Rise of the Guardians 2
by GuardianDragon98
Summary: 8 months after Pitch's defeat at the hands of the Guardians, a new girl moves to Burgess. Her name is Sapphire Aquamarie. An ordinary teen surfer from Florida, Sapphire's ready to have a new life in Burgess with her family. But when she's chosen by Manny to be the next Guardian, her life is tossed around like waves in the ocean. Will she rise up to the challenge?
1. Chapter 1

Rise of the Guardians 2

**Very Important Disclaimer Note: ****I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians. DreamWorks Animation has all the rights to it.**

**Chapter 1**

It was late in the winter afternoon and Jack Frost was having a blast with his friend Jamie Bennett and his friends as they enjoyed a snowball fight. Snowballs flew through the air.

"_Duck!_" Jamie shouted over to Pippa as Cupcake and Claude pelted them.

"Heads up!" Jack threw a snowball and scored a direct hit on Caleb.

"It's on now!" Claude shouted as the snowballs were flung from all directions.

After a couple more throws, they all decided to have some last minute sledding done before going home. As they passed by a few hills on their way to their usual sledding ground, Jamie chatted with Jack.

"So how's being a Guardian? A bit tough?" the boy asked.

The winter spirit shrugged. "Not really. It's actually a lot of fun." He replied.

"Considering that you _are _the Guardian of Fun." Jamie laughed.

Suddenly Pippa shouted, "Someone's going up Dropout Hill!"

Jamie and Jack looked up to see a hooded figure holding a snowboard trudging up a steep snow covered hill. The kids gasped.

"Is that dude gonna _snowboard_?" Claude asked in shock.

"No one's ever attempted to snowboard down Dropout Hill." Cupcake said, her eyes widening in fear. "Let alone do _anything_." Monty gulped nervously. And then there's the _Ledge_." Caleb said, pointing at the rock outcropping near the bottom of the hill, now covered with snow and ice.

If anyone slid or fell off the Ledge, it'd be a sheer drop into the creek down below. It wasn't deep, but it was gonna be a hard fall. On top of that, Dropout Hill was the highest and _steepest _hill in Burgess. Anyone who would try to sled or snowboard down the dreaded slope would end up in the hospital with a few broken bones.

But for some reason, this stranger wasn't gonna let all those dangers stop him from snowboarding.

Jack looked at the kids. "Maybe we should keep an eye on him? In case he…" he mumbled uneasily.

"Yep." Jamie and his friends agreed with him and went to the other side of the drop.

They then watched as the snowboarder got up to the top of the hill and pulled off his hood.

Or should we say _her _hood.

Waves of long brown hair fell down the girl's shoulders.

"A _girl _snowboarder?" Jamie was stunned.

His friends were also surprised. Jack carefully looked at the girl from down below. She had to look at least like around 16 years old. Her face was a bit pale but had a slight pink blush due to the cold. She wore a white cap, a light blue winter jacket, light brown cargo pants and blue boots. Her sea blue eyes sparkled as she surveyed the area.

Satisfied, the girl smiled, got on her board and pushed herself off. "_Woo-hoo! Yeah!_" she shrieked with delight as she zoomed down the hill, doing all sorts of tricks.

So far, she was doing fine!

Jamie and his friends cheered as the girl safely skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill. The kids instantly swarmed the girl while Jack remained at his spot. He had to admit, the girl was pretty cool…and…kinda cute.

"How'd you do that?" Monty asked, eyes wide. The girl shrugged. "Practice makes perfect, I guess."

Jamie cocked his head. "I've never seen you around here. You new in town?" he asked. The girl nodded. "Yeah. I'm _Sapphire _by the way. My family and I just moved in from Florida." She replied.

"So those were _surfboard_ tricks?" Pippa asked breathlessly. "Yeah. Some of them. When I was still in Florida, I spent almost every day of my life surfing. So I thought I'd use some of my moves on the snowboard." Sapphire grinned.

"It's a good thing you stayed away from the Ledge." Cupcake pointed out. "Yeah…If you tried to jump over it, you'll get really battered up." Caleb said, shuddering.

Sapphire glanced at the rocky outcropping and smiled. "The Ledge, huh? Hmm…I could use a challenge." She said deviously.

The kids stared at her.

"You're not gonna try _jumping _over it, are you?" Claude asked slowly. "Why not? If no one's ever attempted it before, this is my chance to try the unthinkable." Sapphire said simply before going back up Dropout Hill with her snowboard.

Jack joined the others on the Ledge's other side down at the creek.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Jamie mumbled.

Jack just stared at Sapphire who was already halfway up the hill. She was dead serious about making the jump.

'_This ought to be interesting._' He thought, smiling.

Meanwhile back at Santoff Claussen (North's Workshop), the other four Guardians were baffled.

A few minutes ago, the Man in the Moon had told them that a new Guardian will be chosen.

Soon.

The crystal had revealed itself to North, Tooth, Bunny and Sandy a while ago but they couldn't figure out what they were seeing. All they saw on top of the crystal was a holographic image of a girl holding a necklace of pearls with a teardrop shaped sapphire charm in her left hand and a snowboard in her right.

"Any idea who she is, mates?" Bunny asked, confused.

Sandy formed sand images of a water droplet and a snowflake over his head.

"You think she could be a water spirit? Or a snow spirit?" Tooth piped up, wondering who the new Guardian could be.

North looked up at the moon, baffled at the choice.

The crystal suddenly glowed, showing the girl trudging up a hill.

"She's…a regular girl." North said in surprise.

Then the crystal showed Jack, Jamie and their friends watching the girl.

"Is that Frostbite there?" Bunny said, looking curiously into the crystal. "He _did _say he was gonna pay Jamie and his friends a visit." Tooth informed them.

Sandy formed a question mark over his head. "Your question is as good as mine, Sandy. Who could she be?" North wondered out loud.

_And what does Jack Frost have to do with her?_

What they didn't know was that someone else was watching them all.

Hiding in the shadows…the Boogeyman, Pitch Black was watching as Sapphire got ready to snowboard.

"What a brave young lady. A stubborn one as well. Just what I need to exact my revenge." He chuckled before looking at Jack Frost with a hateful look in his dark gold eyes.

It's been eight months since Pitch suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Guardians. Now, he was back. And ready to wreak his vengeance.

'_Soon…Fear shall reign once more._' Pitch thought as he summoned Onyx, his favorite Nightmare and pointed at Sapphire. "Get the girl." He ordered and Onyx galloped to position.

Sapphire checked out the area and readied to go down. Jamie and the others were waiting with bated breath.

"I can't watch…!" Pippa squeaked, covering her eyes.

Carefully scanning the area, Sapphire got on her snowboard. She had plotted her course and was positive that with a little perfect timing and luck, she could make it over the Ledge.

"_Here goes nothing._" She muttered to herself as she pushed off again.

Despite their worry, the kids began to cheer as they saw Sapphire already halfway down the hill.

"Look at her go!" Caleb whooped.

"Go for it Sapphire!" Claude shouted.

"I think she's gonna make it!" Cupcake said, getting excited. "I sure hope so, 'cause here comes the Ledge!" Monty said, eyes wide.

Then Jamie looked at one side of the hill and his eyes suddenly widened. "What's wrong?" Pippa asked, uncovering her eyes and looking in his direction.

That's when they saw it.

A Nightmare was galloping towards Sapphire!

Jack noticed it too and recognized it on sight. "Onyx?!" he yelped, recognizing Pitch's favorite Nightmare.

"Sapphire, look out!" Jamie yelled, frantically waving his arms along with his friends.

"What?" Sapphire called, confused, not hearing them well.

Hearing a whinny, she turned her head towards the direction the sound was coming from as well as where the kids were frantically pointing at and saw Onyx barreling towards her!

"Y-yikes!" Sapphire squeaked as she frantically sped up to get away.

"Turn left! Right! No! Another left!" the kids screamed, trying their best to help her. But Sapphire was confused as she zigzagged here and there.

And Onyx was getting closer!

Suddenly Sapphire's board hit a rough patch of snow and flipped under her feet as she got closer to the Ledge!

"_Whoooaaa!_" Sapphire shrieked as she tumbled down, rolling and rolling until she reached the Ledge and to everyone's horror, tipped over the edge!

"_Ah!_" Sapphire yelped but managed to hold onto a chunk of rock.

But Onyx had followed her, snorting viciously.

Looking at the black Nightmare and down to the drop below, Sapphire squeezed her eyes shut as Onyx raised her front hooves in order to stomp on her fingers and send her to her doom.

Acting fast, Jack pointed his staff at Onyx and sent a blast of ice at her. Onyx immediately froze. Launching himself forward into the air, Jack gave her a solid whack with his staff. The Nightmare crumbled into dust.

But that was also when Sapphire's fingers lost their grip.

"Ahhhh! Help!" the girl shrieked, falling down. "Hang on, I gotcha!" Jack shouted, diving after her.

Sapphire had her eyes shut tight so she didn't see Jack use his staff to whip up a gust of wind. All she felt was suddenly being shot up into the air and a fierce gust of wind ripping something off her neck. Then she felt stable ground underneath her feet. Shaken, but relieved, Sapphire fell down on her back onto the ground. Jamie and the others went over to see if she was alright while Jack grabbed her snowboard that was lying a few feet away from him and the Ledge.

That's when he looked down and noticed something sparkling in the creek.

Curious, the young Guardian flew down to take a closer look. Noticing something in the water, Jack quickly scooped it up. It was a pearl necklace with a sapphire charm in the center in the shape of a teardrop. Putting it in his pocket and flying back up, Jack saw Jamie and his friends huddled around Sapphire. A little woozy, the girl sat up and took deep breaths to calm down.

"Are you okay?" Cupcake asked, worried.

"I…think so…Just…what happened?" Sapphire muttered. "What do you mean?" Pippa asked, confused.

"You know…How did I get up _here?_ I was falling down just a few seconds ago and then this gust of wind saved my life. I mean…how did _that _happen?" Sapphire said, utterly baffled at her lucky escape from serious injury.

Jamie looked at his friends nervously. Sapphire was beginning to get suspicious.

"Um…maybe you just got lucky?" Claude suggested. "Or maybe it was just a freak wind!" Caleb joined in.

"Nothing weird or _supernatural_ about that!" Monty piped up.

But Sapphire could see through their bluff.

"My eyes may have been shut tight in fear but I could feel that something was going on. There was this sort of crackling noise like a bolt of lightning and I could hear someone hitting that horse and something crumbling into dust. I know this sounds weird but I think that horse was made out of _black sand_. So that 'whacking' sound was probably from whoever used a stick, bat or anything hard to get rid of it. Then just as I was falling, someone was yelling '_Hang on, I gotcha!_' and then this _huge _gust of wind shot me up into the air…" As Sapphire rambled on, Jack hovered over to Jamie.

"She's quite a verbal freight train, isn't she?" Jack laughed a bit, listening to the Florida cutie go on and on and on.

Jamie had to giggle. "Yeah…No stopping her when she opens her mouth or when she's in that kind of mood." He said, chuckling.

Sapphire heard all that and was immediately offended.

"Hey I'm being serious here! You know something and I…!" she said irritated as she spun around to face Jamie.

And then she stopped in mid-sentence and gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

Pippa, Cupcake, Claude, Caleb and Monty glanced at Jamie, panic clearly written on their faces. That's when Jamie noticed that Jack was holding Sapphire's snowboard in his hands.

If Sapphire couldn't see Jack Frost, she would _definitely _see her things _floating _in mid-air!

Jack gave Jamie a look that clearly said, '_Now what?!_'

Choosing his words carefully, Jamie managed to stutter. "Uh…This might be weird. Seeing objects floating in mid-air and all…This is all just a really weird…dream! Yeah! And you're gonna be waking up in a few minutes so no need to worry…"

Inwardly, the other kids groaned. This really wasn't helping with the situation.

Suddenly Sapphire spoke up. "Jamie…Who's that?"

The boy's eyes widened along with everyone else's.

"What do you mean?" Cupcake asked slowly. "You know…The guy with the staff…Next to Jamie…The one…floating in mid-air." Sapphire replied, eyes still as wide as saucers.

Jack's mouth dropped open. Sapphire could…see him…

The other four Guardians saw the whole thing. "She can see Jack?" Tooth said in awe.

Sandy formed a sand image of a woman and a big question mark to emphasize his amazement.

"Sandy's right, mates. She's a pretty big bloomer now and she believes in us?" Bunny was rather surprised.

North looked up to the Man in the Moon, back to the crystal and laughed heartily.

"_Now _I know why Manny chose her. Her belief is strong and I feel it in my belly that she has something very special inside of her. Just like Jack Frost!" he said emphatically.

Slowly the Guardians nodded.

The girl must have something very special.

And if Manny could see it then…she must be the new Guardian.

Sapphire stared at Jack for several seconds, completely and utterly shocked.

"You…You can see me?" Jack asked, carefully landing on the ground. The young girl nodded.

"Wait…You believe in the Guardians, Sapphire?" Jamie asked curiously. "The…_Guardians?_" Sapphire repeated in confusion.

"You know…Santa Clause, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, Sandman." Pippa informed her. "Yeah I believe in them. I just didn't know they were…Guardians." Sapphire said apprehensively.

Then she looked at Jack…and her snowboard. "Um…my stuff…Can I…?" she requested shyly. "Oh! Um…Of course…" Jack mumbled, handing her the board.

Sapphire then noticed the setting sun. "Oh boy…I gotta go. We just moved in and I snuck out of the house to escape cleaning duty earlier. Bye!" she said hastily and ran down the hill just as Jack was about to pull the necklace out of his pocket.

"Hey, wait!" Jack cried out to stop her.

But the girl was as fast as Bunny and was already long gone.

Sighing, Jack put the necklace back in his pocket. Nighttime was fast approaching and he had to be back at the Pole soon. He was just gonna have to come back tomorrow if he could and look for Sapphire.

Saying good-bye to his friends as they went home, Jack shouted to the wind. "North Pole!" and swung his staff. Instantly the winds rushed in forward and carried the Guardian of Fun into the sky.

As Jack flew off, Pitch watched from his hiding place in the woods. '_Soon…That Frost is going to pay._' He thought spitefully before he disappeared into the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey, DragonGuardian98 here! This is my first ever story so I'm really excited to share it with you. You've all read the first chapter so I'll give you all a little background on the fic.**_

_**I started hand writing the original draft of this story around late 2012 about two months after I watched Rise of the Guardians. I instantly fell in love with the film and started getting ideas on a sequel fanfic. Also at around this time, I discovered fanfiction. Fast forward ten months later, I finished the original draft. Early this year, I typed the story onto my laptop while making a few changes and here it is **_

_**Feel free to read and review! Any flames will be used to roast marshmallows :D**_

**And once again, I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians and DreamWorks Animation has all the rights.**

**Chapter 2**

Sapphire noticed that her necklace was gone as she entered the house.

"Oh no…" she groaned, shaking her head.

"Hey Saph, where've you been?" her dad said, seeing her in the hall.

"Sapphire Aquamarie, can you please explain to us what you've been doing for the past three hours when you were _supposed_ to be cleaning your room?" her mom asked, hands on her hips as Sapphire entered the dining room.

There were still packing boxes around the house since Sapphire didn't help cleaning the house. The young girl smiled sheepishly.

"I was…buying paint for my room." She fibbed.

Then her little five year old brother, Donnie piped up. "Nuh-uh. She was out snowboarding."

Sapphire cringed as her parents looked at her. And she had bribed the kid with sweets in order to keep his mouth shut!

"Sorry…It's just that the timing and weather was so perfect. I had to try my new snowboard out." She apologized before looking at her neck and sighed.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" her dad asked, seeing how sad his daughter was.

noticed it first.

"Weren't you wearing your necklace earlier?" she asked. Sapphire looked down at the floor. "I was. But I lost it in a snowboarding accident. It must have fallen into the creek at Dropout Hill." She answered with a sigh.

"You _lost _Layla's necklace?" Donnie asked, eyes wide. "Hey it was an accident! I didn't want to lose it in the first place!" his sister snapped.

"Sapphire, he was only asking." Her mom said sternly. "Don't worry, we'll go get it back tomorrow." reassured her. Sapphire nodded before joining the family for dinner.

Jack landed on the entrance to North's workshop and went inside. As usual, the yetis were hard at work and the elves…well…they were up to their usual mischief.

Suddenly Tooth flew over to him.

"Really big news, Jack! Come on you gotta see this!" she said excitedly pulling him towards the Globe Room.

A bit confused, Jack sprinted to keep up. Entering the Globe Room, Jack noticed that the crystal was there.

"A new Guardian?" he asked, surprised. "Got that right, mate. Only problem is that we have no idea who she is." Bunny hopped over to him.

Sandy tugged at Jack's sleeve and pointed to the hologram on top. Jack took one look at it and dropped his staff, frost shooting out onto the floor.

"_Sapphire?_" he asked in shock, watching an elf slide across the icy floor before getting his staff. "Manny has made an interesting choice, don't you think?" North chuckled.

Jack just stared at the hologram. "But…she doesn't have any powers. She's just…a regular girl." He mumbled, still puzzled. "That may be true, Jack. But her belief is strong. She has something very special in her. I feel it…in my belly!" North replied, patting his stomach.

Just then, Baby Tooth saw something sparkling in Jack's pocket. Twittering excitedly, she flew into it and pulled out Sapphire's necklace.

"Hey! Baby Tooth, give it back!" Jack laughed as he tried to grab the necklace but Tooth beat him to it. "Where did you get this?" Tooth asked him curiously. Bunny carefully looked at the necklace and recognized its similarity to the one on the hologram. "It's a perfect match." He said, holding it up.

"I was going to give it back but she already left for home." Jack informed them. Sandy conjured up an image of one of his dream sand streams entering a window.

"Sandy says he can drop it off at her house when he goes to Burgess later this evening." Tooth explained.

Jack took the necklace and held it carefully in his hand. "I don't know…Maybe I should give it back to her myself." He said apprehensively, looking at Sapphire's image and before he could stop himself, smiled.

Bunny took notice of this and started to laugh.

"Oh you've been bitten by the love bug, mate!" he laughed.

Jack immediately felt his cheeks grow hot.

"Jack, are you _blushing_?" Tooth asked, her wings fluttering excitedly.

Sandy silently giggled and made little sand hearts over his head. "Not you too…" the winter spirit whined, seeing that even Sandy was making fun of him.

Luckily North silenced the other Guardians for him.

"Now, now, no need to make fun of Jack here. If he wants to accompany Sandy on his rounds, then he will be allowed." He said sternly. Jack gave the Guardian of Wonder a grateful smile and began to leave with Sandy.

But just as he was about to step out the door, Jack heard North, Bunny and Tooth chanting, "Jack and Sapphire, sitting in a tree…"

"You've _got _to be kidding me…" he muttered, shaking his head. Sandy just covered his mouth to block out a silent laugh.

Meanwhile in Burgess, Sapphire was busy arranging her things in her room. She promised herself that on the very first night in her new home, her room would be spick-and-span.

Now, things were starting to look up.

Her clothes have been organized in her wardrobe, her books on the shelves and most of her little knick-knacks and treasures have been proudly displayed for all to see.

And all the while, Sapphire had been telling Donnie all about the incident that had happened that afternoon.

"And when I turned around, there he was, hovering off the ground, right next to Jamie!" Sapphire said breathlessly. Donnie played with a stuffed dolphin on his sister's bed. "So who's _he _exactly?" he asked, puzzled.

Sapphire was busy sketching on a piece of paper. "I didn't really ask for his name. But I think he was…_Jack Frost_." She replied while sketching.

Donnie's eyes widened.

"Are you talking about the expression '_Jack Frost nipping at your nose_.'?" He said, baffled. "Not the expression, Don. I mean the _real deal_ Jack Frost. I know it was him. His hair was white, his skin was pale and his eyes…Oh wow…his eyes were _icy blue_." Sapphire said dreamily, placing the paper on her bed.

It turned out she had sketched a picture of Jack himself.

Donnie stared at the picture.

"That's _him_? But he looks like…a regular teenager."

That's when it hit him.

Grinning mischievously, Donnie shouted at the top of his lungs, "MOM! DAD! SAPH'S GOT A CRUSH ON…!" before Sapphire clamped her hands over his mouth.

"What was that, sweetie?" their mom asked from downstairs. "Nothing mom! Just Donnie kidding around!" Sapphire shouted back in reply before glaring at her little brother.

"Tell anyone about this conversation or else." She threatened. Donnie managed to break free from her grasp. "Yeah? Or else _what_?" he taunted.

Suddenly Sapphire grabbed him.

"Or else I will _tickle you to death_!" she crowed, tickling his sides.

"Haha! Haha! Stop it! Quit it, Saph!" Donnie giggled wiggling about as his sister tickled him. "_Make me!_" Sapphire laughed and shrieked with glee as Donnie began tickling _her_!

Laughing, the two of them rolled off the bed and collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles.

"But seriously, Donnie. Promise me you won't tell a soul about this." Sapphire told him seriously as she got ready for bed. "I promise." Donnie said solemnly before he went to his room.

Sapphire placed the drawing next to her pillow along with her pencil. Then looking at the windows, she opened them just a crack to let a cool breeze flow through her room. Yawning, she crawled into bed and was fast asleep in a few minutes.

Roof tiles froze as Jack Frost zipped from one roof to another, looking for Sapphire's house.

"Not this one…" he mumbled, peering into a kid's window. Sandy followed close behind, sending dreams to all the sleeping children in Burgess.

Jack joined him up in the air.

"Sandy, you have any idea where her house is?" he asked hopefully. Sandy rubbed his chin thoughtfully and then his eyes lit up.

He formed a dolphin out of dream sand and let it loose. The dolphin swam through the air. Sandy gave Jack a wink and pointed at the sand dolphin.

If Jack wanted to find Sapphire, the dolphin would lead the way.

Grinning, Jack flew after it until he saw it enter a slightly open window. Carefully, Jack went closer to the window ledge. Sapphire was curled up in bed, smiling in her sleep as dolphins swam around her head. In her dream, she was playing and swimming with them in the ocean without a care in the world. Jack smiled as he watched her dream and then noticed the drawing near her pillow. Carefully reaching out with one arm, he picked it up. Jack smiled, admiring it. He had to admit, Sapphire was a really good artist.

Suddenly Sapphire's eyes blinked open and she bolted up from bed.

"Um…Sorry if I woke you up." Jack mumbled sheepishly. Sapphire stared at him for a few seconds before she smiled. "Nah…It's okay. I usually wake up in the middle of the night anyway. It happens a lot of times." She said softly.

Noticing that Jack was on the window ledge, she laughed. "Well don't be shy. Come in." she said politely, opening the window.

Jack carefully stepped off the ledge and into the girl's room.

"Nice place you got here." He commented, looking around before noticing a family photo on Sapphire's bedside table.

Sapphire was laughing along with two kids, a little girl and a toddler Donnie with her mom and dad.

"You have a really great family…" he said softly, remembering his little sister. "Thanks…I just wish it was still whole though…" Sapphire replied sadly.

Jack cocked his head, confused. Sapphire handed him a silver picture frame with the picture of a girl with short brown hair and looked a lot like her.

Then he saw something written underneath it.

'_In loving memory of Layla.'_.

Sapphire pointed at the girl next to her in the family picture.

"My sister died a few months ago…She was only 11…" she whispered. "Oh…I'm…sorry to hear that." Jack apologized, awkwardly shuffling to his feet.

Sighing, Sapphire put the photos back. "It's been kind of rough…But we'll pull through." She said with a bit of hope in her voice.

Jack had to smile a bit. Then his staff accidentally bumped into a bookshelf. Frost instantly covered it and all the books.

"Oops…" he cringed. Sapphire glanced at the bookshelf and grinned. "I knew it. You _are _Jack Frost!" she exclaimed excitedly. "The one and only." Jack laughed, taking a bow.

Then he remembered something.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to give you this a while ago." He said, taking the necklace out of his pocket. Sapphire's blue eyes lit up with joy. "My necklace! I thought I'd lost it for good!" she exclaimed, taking it.

"It's really important to you?" Jack raised an eyebrow. Sapphire nodded and glanced at her sister's photo. "Yeah it was actually Layla's. She gave it to me…the day she died." She said softly. Jack nodded sympathetically.

"I don't really talk about her too much…Sometimes I'm not really sure if anyone will understand how I feel about losing a sister." Sapphire told him, sitting on her bed. Jack sat next to her. "Trust me, I know how it feels. I actually had a sister too, you know." He told her.

Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise.

"She wasn't the one who died…It was me." Jack added. "_You?_ Is that how you became a Guardian?" Sapphire asked him curiously.

"I died when I saved her from drowning in the Pond when the ice broke. So the Man in the Moon turned me into a spirit of winter and after a _long _while, chose me to be a Guardian." Jack explained to her. "How long exactly is a long while?" Sapphire pressed on, ignoring the part of the Man in the Moon a bit.

Jack shrugged. "Three hundred years." He replied nonchalantly.

Sapphire's jaw dropped.

"And how old were you when that happened?" she inquired.

"Around 18 years old." Jack answered.

"So compared to me, you're about 302 years older than me." Sapphire giggled. Jack had to laugh. "Yeah…Kind of disappointing." He mumbled, slightly embarrassed about the wide, _really _wide age gap between him and her.

"What?" Sapphire asked, confused as she didn't hear him really well.

Realizing what he just said, Jack blushed. "_Nothing!_" he said hastily.

Suddenly Sandy appeared in the window. "_Sandman?_" Sapphire breathed in awe. Sandy nodded and politely motioned to Jack.

"Whoops! I gotta go." Jack said, going to the window before Sapphire spoke up. "Hey Jack…Thanks for giving me back my sister's necklace. It really means a lot." Jack turned around and looked into her sea blue eyes. "You're welcome." He smiled before holding out his free hand. Sapphire gladly stuck out her own hand and they shook hands.

Leaping out the window, Jack floated up into the air.

"_Bye Jack._" Sapphire waved at him from her window. "_See ya' Sapphire._" The young Guardian said before flying off with Sandy.

Sapphire noticed that he had her drawing with him but she didn't mind.

'_I drew it for him after all…_' she thought smiling as she went back to sleep.

Sandy pointed at the drawing in Jack's hand, curious. "Sapphire drew it for me." The Guardian of Fun said simply.

Again, Sandy formed sand hearts over his head just to tease him.

"Oh shut up." Jack rolled his eyes as they flew back to the Pole.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sapphire glanced at the rising sun as she pulled on her boots. Today, she will try her luck again on the Ledge.

'_I just hope there aren't any more of those black horses roaming about…_' she thought shuddering as she quietly tiptoed out of her room.

Her parents were still asleep since it was only five AM in the morning. If she was quick enough, she could do the jump and be back home with a few minutes to spare.

"This time…_I will conquer the Ledge." _she whispered excitedly to herself as she went downstairs.

Little did she know that a certain five year old was watching her…

Donnie giggled softly, putting on his winter coat and silently followed his sister as she trudged through the snow, headed for Dropout Hill.

It was really chilly. Donnie shivered and before he could stop himself…

"_Ah-choo!_"

Sapphire spun around to find her baby brother right behind her.

"Good grief! Donnie, why aren't you in bed?" she exclaimed in shock. "I wanna see you go down the hill." Donnie grinned playfully. "No way mister, you go straight home right this instant." Sapphire ordered him. "Okay, then _I'll _go tell mom and dad you snuck out again!" Donnie stuck his tongue out at her.

Sighing, Sapphire shook her head. She didn't really have much of a choice.

"Alright, fine. One try down Dropout Hill and that's it. As soon as that's done, you go home." She said, gently lifting Donnie up to carry him. "_Deal._" Donnie grinned and wrapped his arms around his sister's neck.

Then the two of them made their way over to the hill. But suddenly, a loud whinny echoed through the frigid air, making the two siblings stop.

"What was that?" Donnie cautiously whispered.

Sapphire tensed when the sound of hooves pounding the ground suddenly reached her ears. A dark shadow suddenly loomed over them both.

"Hello there, little kiddies." Pitch Black coldly laughed as they turned around to see him and his Nightmares.

Sapphire put Donnie down and stepped out in front to protect him. But deep down inside, she felt scared. Pitch's dark gold eyes seemed to drill right into her very soul.

"What's the matter? _Scared?_" Pitch snickered as his Nightmares began to snort viciously. Donnie bravely jumped out in front of Sapphire. "No, we're not! So leave us alone!" he shouted.

A Nightmare suddenly raised its hooves, startling him into backing away as it stomped on the ground.

"_Boo!_" Pitch cackled and his Nightmares prepared to charge.

"Donnie, RUN!" Sapphire yelled, taking her brother's hand and rushing off.

"Run where? Where?!" Donnie panted as he tried to keep up. "_Just run!_" his big sister shouted, giving him a shove to hurry up.

The Nightmares raced after them neighing loudly. Brother and sister scrambled to keep ahead of them. Seeing Dropout Hill and the Ledge, Sapphire perked up.

"Come on!" she shouted, leading her brother up the hill.

Jack sat on a tree branch and took out a pencil and the drawing. Sapphire's drawing of him only took up one side of the paper so he was drawing a portrait of Sapphire on the other side. He had stayed up late last night, working hard on the sketch. And now, he was just gonna put the finishing touches.

"Alright…Almost…_done!_" he said to himself, pleased with his work.

The drawing was absolutely _perfect_. Sapphire was gonna like it for sure.

Smiling, Jack rested on the tree for a few minutes. Suddenly a shrill scream split the air. A little startled, Jack grabbed his staff.

What he saw down below the tree nearly made him fall out of it.

Sapphire and her brother were running as if their lives depended on it, followed by Pitch and his Nightmares!

"Oh no…" the winter Guardian mumbled, seeing them go up Dropout Hill.

Quickly, Jack grabbed a breeze and followed them.

Finally making it to the top, Sapphire hoisted Donnie onto her back and readied her snowboard.

"Hang on tight. And no matter what happens, _don't let go_." She ordered sternly looking at him in the eye. Trembling, Donnie clung onto his big sister's neck.

Then Sapphire boarded down the slope, the Nightmares in hot pursuit.

'_I gotta make that jump! It's our only chance!_' she thought worriedly to herself as they neared the Ledge.

A Nightmare managed to catch up and kicked Sapphire's board out of her.

"Ahhh!" Donnie yelled as they sailed through the air, landing in the snow with a loud thud.

Groaning, Sapphire retrieved her board only to find that she and Donnie were surrounded by Pitch and Nightmares.

And they were standing on the Ledge.

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. To think, the Man in the Moon chose _you_ to be a Guardian. What can you do anyway?" Pitch sneered as a Nightmare began to stomp on the Ledge, making cracks appear on the icy rock. "_'Guardian'?_" Donnie said, confused. Pitch pointed at his sister.

"…_Me?_" Sapphire breathed as more cracks appeared on the Ledge.

Yelping, Donnie hugged his sister. Sapphire frantically looked around for an escape.

But there wasn't any.

A Nightmare was just about to charge at them when suddenly, a blast of ice froze it in place.

Pitch turned around to see Jack Frost glaring at him. "Why, Jack! Long time, no see!" he said, smiling evilly. "Leave them alone, Pitch." Jack warned, pointing his staff at the Boogeyman.

Snickering, Pitch waved his hand to his horses and shouted, "Attack!"

The Nightmares charged at the young Guardian.

But Jack was ready for them.

Safely up in the air, he blasted snow and ice at them as Sapphire and Donnie watched, awestruck. "Cool…" Donnie gasped.

Suddenly the Ledge began to wobble.

It was going to snap in half!

Quickly Sapphire spotted a safe route for her brother to cross and pushed him away from her.

"Donnie, go! Run and don't look back!" she yelled at him.

Donnie just stared at her in shock.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine! While Pitch's distracted, _hurry_!" Sapphire shouted.

Nodding shakily, Donnie ran off just as Pitch noticed him.

"Shame, there goes one victim. Sorry Jack but we'll fight again another day." He replied, snapping his fingers. The Nightmares vanished along with him.

Confused, Jack spun around to see the Ledge wobble. Donnie had turned around just to check on his sister and saw to his horror, the part of the Ledge his sister was standing on give way!

"_Sapphire!_" Jack shouted in alarm, thrusting his staff toward her. Vainly, Sapphire tried to grab hold.

But it was too late.

She fell off the edge and hit the creek hard.

"…NOO!" Donnie screamed, falling to his knees with a sob.

Jack zipped over to the kid and tried to comfort him but Donnie just stood up and ran off, crying. Then Jack flew down to the creek, hoping that Sapphire had managed to get out of there okay. But there was no sign of the young girl and Jack found out that the creek was a lot deeper than he originally thought.

"Sapphire! Can you hear me?! SAPPHIRE!" Jack shouted into the water, hoping she could hear him.

Sapphire struggled to keep her eyes open. Every muscle and bone in her body ached. And her lungs were burning from the freezing cold water. Then she heard a voice calling out to her from above the water. She couldn't hear really well due to the pressure in her ears as she sank but Sapphire could hear the voice worriedly calling her name. She desperately kicked her legs and began to slowly swim up to the surface. Finally she managed to lift her head out of the water, gasping violently for air.

Jack had been seriously thinking of diving in to save her (_although he knew that it was a bad idea since water turned into ice wherever he went_) when he saw her head poke out of the water. Immediately he held his staff out to her. Sapphire clawed through the water and latched onto it. Making sure she had a decent grip, Jack hoisted her onto the bank of the creek. Coughing, Sapphire collapsed onto the ground, shaking violently. Too weak to even hear Jack's frantic voice as he tried to make her stay awake, Sapphire let her eyes close and she lost consciousness.

"Oh no…What do I do? What do I do…?" Jack muttered, starting to panic. The girl had fainted but was still shivering so she had to have a bad case of hypothermia.

Suddenly a rabbit hole opened up in the ground and Bunny hopped out of it.

"Where've you been, mate? North's not happy about you sneaking out at the crack of dawn, just so you know." He glared at the winter spirit.

But his expression softened when he saw Sapphire on the ground. "What…" he began to say before Jack cut him off. "No time to explain, Kangaroo. We need to get her out of here before she freezes to death." Jack informed him, now seriously regretting his decision to make winter in Burgess a little bit colder in the mornings.

Nodding, Bunny hoisted Sapphire onto his back followed by Jack. "Keep her steady. It's a long way back to the Pole." He reminded the winter spirit. Jack nodded and tightly held onto Sapphire's shaking form as Bunny hopped back into his tunnels and raced through them as fast as his paws could go. Sapphire stirred slightly and moaned weakly.

"Just hang in there, Sapphire…_Please_." Jack whispered, squeezing her hand as they headed to the North Pole.

Donnie ran back to his house, crying hysterically the whole way. He just couldn't believe that Sapphire was gone and probably never coming back…

He would never forget the look in his sister's eyes as she sacrificed herself to save him.

The mere thought of that made Donnie cry even harder.

When he arrived at his house, his parents had already woken up and they were about to head out in their car to look for their kids when they had checked on their rooms to find that they weren't there at all.

was the first to see Donnie running over to them. "Donnie there you are! Sweetie what's wrong?" she said worriedly, seeing the tears running down Donnie's face. His dad looked around to find one person missing.

"Where's your sister?" At the mention of Sapphire, Donnie sobbed even harder. "We were chased by…m-monsters up the hill a-and then we were st-st-standing on the L-Ledge…Sapphire saved me…But she…!" he managed to choke out before completely breaking down.

His mom just hugged him tightly as she looked at her husband fearfully. After calming Donnie down, the couple went to Dropout Hill and found Sapphire's snowboard lying in the snow, next to the Ledge. The two parents panicked and called the police to have them search for their daughter in the surrounding area.

But after days of searching without finding any trace of the young girl, the Aquamarie family went into grieving.

They had hoped but now lost hope. Sapphire was…gone.

Baby Tooth chirped excitedly as Sapphire's eyes flicked open. "Huh…Wha…?" the young girl mumbled, woozily gazing around.

She was in a really warm living room, lying on a red velvet couch and covered in a soft quilt. A fire crackled in a fireplace although outside, she could see that it was still day time. Baby Tooth flew closer to Sapphire's face, twittering excitedly.

"Uhh…Hello…" Sapphire said groggily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

A Yeti then entered the room with a plate of cookies and a mug of hot chocolate. "Arghbagl?" it grunted, offering Sapphire the food. "Thanks…I think." The girl mumbled uneasily before taking a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie while the Yeti left.

She helped herself to a few bites before trying to stand up.

"Ack!" she yelped, falling back on the couch as her legs buckled.

Apparently she was still a little wobbly on her legs.

"Okay…Stretch first. That should do it." She murmured to herself as she did her routine stretches, like she always did before catching some waves back home in Florida.

After her warm ups, Sapphire prepared to stand. Baby Tooth flew behind her to help her up.

"_Yes!_" Sapphire said triumphantly as she got off the couch and stood straight. Then she took a few careful steps around the room. After making sure her legs wouldn't buckle while walking, Sapphire went over to the nearest door and pushed it open. Finding herself in a hallway, Sapphire silently padded down the hall with Baby Tooth close behind. After a few twists and turns, they found themselves in the inner workshop of Santoff Claussen.

"Wow…" Sapphire breathed, eyes widening in amazement as she looked around at all the toys and the busy rush of activity.

Yetis rushed to and fro, making preparations and the elves…let's just say in their own way, they were doing their best to help. Baby Tooth then chirped to Sapphire for her to follow.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously as she passed by the yetis and elves and got on an elevator. She followed the little fairy until she reached a door. Hearing voices on the other side, Sapphire pressed her ear to the keyhole.

"Alright, who's going to tell her?" a female voice said.

"Let's not be getting ahead of ourselves, guys. We don't even know when she'll wake up." A heavily Russian-accented male voice boomed.

"Well in my opinion, I think Frostbite here should tell her." Another male voice, this time with an Australian accent, piped up.

Then, Sapphire heard a familiar voice speak. "What? Why me?"

"_Jack?_" Sapphire wondered out loud, looking at Baby Tooth, surprised.

Curious, she peered into the keyhole and saw a stream of sparkly gold sand through the hole. Then before she could react, the door swung open.

"_Ah!_" Sapphire yelped as she tipped forward and fell to the floor.

Looking up, she saw Sandy looming over her with a confused expression on his face.

"…_Sapphire?_" she then noticed Jack walking over to her. "You're awake?" Tooth was surprised. Sapphire merely nodded, staring at her multicolored form in awe.

Jack offered the young girl his hand and helped her up. "…_Thanks_…" she mumbled shyly. Jack just blushed, giving her a sheepish grin.

"Glad to see you awake, little missy." Bunny hopped over to her.

North started examining her. "Any chills? Fever? Broken bones?" he asked, concerned if she was ill or injured by any chance. "Um…no I'm fine…I guess…" Sapphire replied awkwardly.

"Maybe you have a toothache!" Tooth then started flying towards her to check out her teeth.

Sapphire gave Jack a confused and bewildered look. All this attention was making her feel kind of uncomfortable.

"Alright, hang on! Give her some space!" Jack tapped his staff on the floor.

The Guardians immediately hushed up and backed off.

That's when Sapphire found the courage to speak up.

"Okay, for starters, _where _am I? _Who _are you guys? And _how _did I get here?" she asked, utterly confused.

"You're at Santoff Claussen AKA the North Pole." North replied.

"Wha…?" Sapphire gasped, realizing she was _miles _away from home.

"As for who we are, we're the Guardians. I'm Tooth. He's Bunny. He's Santa Clause or North, as we call him. And that's Sandy. Jack here's also a Guardian." Tooth pointed to herself and to the other Guardians one-by-one.

"Okay, I get that. But how did I end up here? In the _North Pole?_" Sapphire slowly asked while trying to process all this information. "You had a bad case of hypothermia. Jack and I brought you here to recover, mate. Although to be honest with you, it _would _have been better if Jack took you home." Bunny told her, throwing a sideward glance at Jack.

The winter spirit rolled his eyes. "She was _freezing _to death. What if she couldn't make it in time for me to bring her home? And what if Pitch is still after her?" he countered.

Then he added, "And…I was…really worried about you." He mumbled, looking at Sapphire.

The young girl looked at him in shock for a few seconds before she finally smiled. "Thanks for saving me…" she said shyly. Jack blushed a little and smiled.

"Love bug." Bunny whispered to some elves, who began to giggle. Luckily Sandy shushed them up with a sprinkle of dream sand.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I'm back! Couldn't help it so here's Chapter 4! And like I said before in the previous chapter, this chapter's FULL of tearjerkers. Read on if you dare.**_

_**And once again, I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians and DreamWorks has all the rights.**_

**Chapter 4**

"How do I get home? And how long was I out cold anyway?" Sapphire asked while looking at the Globe of Belief, curious.

"About two weeks." Jack answered.

The young girl spun around in shock.

"WHAT?! TWO WHOLE **WEEKS**?!" Sapphire shrieked in horror, making the Guardian of Fun cringe.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there mate. We can take the tunnels if you wanna leave." Bunny said, trying to calm her down. "You already used the tunnels to take her here. Let's take the sleigh. She'll love the sleigh." North suggested.

"Here we go again." Tooth sighed, looking at Sandy as they watched the two argue.

Meanwhile Jack decided to sneak Sapphire out of the room. "So you live here?" Sapphire asked as they walked around the workshop. Jack nodded. "Come on. I wanna show you my room."

He led her to a light blue door decorated with snowflakes and opened it. A blast of cold air hit them both and they stepped inside.

Jack had been given his own room by North when he moved in and he had made it into his own space. Shiny icicles hung from the ceilings and snowflakes floated all around the room. Small ice sculptures were displayed on bookshelves and a train set made of ice was on one side of the room next to a bed with blue sheets that were covered with a thin layer of ice.

"So what do you think?" Jack laughed, seeing Sapphire's mouth hanging open.

"This has got to be the coolest room I've ever seen." Sapphire said in awe before shivering a little.

"_Literally._" She added, giggling.

Jack blushed and laughed as well.

Leaving Jack's room, the two of them went around the workshop.

"I thought the _elves _made the toys? And not…abominable snowmen." Sapphire said, puzzled as they watched a couple of elves play around with some Christmas lights. "North just lets them believe that." Jack giggled when they suddenly heard North's voice.

"I don't like it, paint it red!" The Guardian of Wonder was supervising some yetis' work when he spotted the two teens.

"Ah! There you are. Come along, we got to take Sapphire home. Meet us at the sleigh hangar." He boomed, rushing off. "Sleigh?" Sapphire asked curiously. Jack grinned. "You're gonna love it." He said, smiling as he led her to the sleigh track.

"O…M…G." that was all Sapphire could say when she saw North's tricked-out sleigh.

She glanced at Jack. "That is like…_wow._" She said, mouth dropping open in amazement.

Jack laughed and helped her up.

"Everyone loves the sleigh." North chuckled as they got on.

He hoisted Bunny up just when the rabbit was about to make a run for it.

"Not again…" Bunny moaned, wishing he had used a rabbit hole.

Luckily Tooth was prepared and handed him a barf bag.

"_Here we go!_" North boomed jovially as Sandy got in, cracking the reins.

The reindeer began to run down the icy path, picking up speed.

"_Klassno!_" North laughed as they hit the loopty-loops.

Sandy put his hands up in the air, Jack and Sapphire screamed gleefully while Bunny…had his head shoved in the bag as Tooth and Baby Tooth helped him.

"This is awesome! I am enjoying this!" Sapphire shrieked as the cool wind slapped her face. Jack smiled, seeing how happy she was.

But then he glanced at his fellow Guardians. They looked at him nervously. He knew what they were thinking.

He had to tell Sapphire something…something important.

Jack scooched over to the girl and hesitatingly mumbled. "Sapphire…There's something I need to tell you…" Sapphire looked at him, a smile on her face and her blue eyes sparkling. "Yeah, Jack?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

The Guardian of Fun looked at her once and instantly began to feel…weird. "You're…having a good time?" he managed to say.

Sandy looked at his fellow Guardians, confused.

That wasn't what the boy was supposed to say to her.

"The best time of my life!" Sapphire laughed, oblivious to the fact that Jack's cheeks were turning red and went back to admiring the view.

Jack nervously looked at North who gave him a questioning look.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Tooth whispered.

Jack helplessly shrugged.

"I just…I tried but…I…don't…know." He said apologetically.

"You've _definitely _been bitten by the love bug, mate-_hard_." Bunny smirked, taking his head out of the bag, still having enough energy to taunt the winter spirit. "Oh shut it, kangaroo." Jack huffed, glaring at the rabbit.

Bunny just grinned, before turning green and shoving his head back into the barf bag.

North then took out one of his magic snow globes.

"Burgess!" he shouted, hurling it into the air.

A portal appeared in the sky, showing a mirage image of the town. The sleigh got sucked into the vortex, eliciting a yelp a surprise from Sapphire.

Then the town of Burgess was above them.

"That was fast." Sapphire remarked before noticing that she had pressed herself closely to Jack.

She must've done it when the sleigh got sucked into the vortex. The girl blushed and quickly slid away from the winter spirit who was also blushing furiously.

"How do you think I can leave gifts all around the world in one night? Overspeeding?" North chuckled, fortunately not noticing the two teens and cracked the reins.

The reindeer flew down and landed at the Pond.

"Glad that's over…" Bunny groaned, staggering out of the sleigh.

"What're you gonna do now, Sapphire?" Tooth asked, Baby Tooth flitting about around her.

The young girl looked up at the sky. It seemed still pretty early. She wasn't sure if her parents and brother were awake at this time of day but she really wanted to go home.

"Well I really want to surprise them…Wait 'til Donnie hears about all this…" she said, excited to see her family and tell them about her big experience.

Sandy tugged at Jack's sleeve, forming a sand image of a speech bubble and exclamation point over his head. The young Guardian of Fun knew what the little golden man meant.

'_Tell her the truth. Now!_'

But Bunny then stepped in and whispered to Jack. "I think you should tell her when you two are alone."

Jack gave him a look that clearly said, '_Are you joking?!_'

"She'll understand better if someone her age tells her, Jack." Tooth nodded in agreement.

"You guys _do _know that technically I'm _318_, right?" Jack muttered under his breath so Sapphire (who was playing around with Baby Tooth in the snow) wouldn't hear.

North gave Jack a reassuring pat on the back, urging him to go do it. Jack sighed in defeat.

He had no choice now…

Cautiously, he approached Sapphire. "Hey Sapphire, how about I take you home?" he offered to which the young girl smiled. "That's really nice of you, Jack. Thanks."

Jack could feel his stomach filling up with butterflies as he carefully wrapped one arm around Sapphire's waist and used his other arm to swing his staff. The wind picked them up and the two teens flew away from the Pond.

'_How am I going to tell her the truth? Oh Manny, how?!_' Jack thought worriedly to himself.

Sapphire's voice cut off his train of thoughts.

"Oh hey there's my house!" Sapphire pointed to a two-storey house with a blue roof down below.

"I hope one of the windows is open. I can't wait to surprise them…"

Sapphire was so excited about surprising her family it made Jack feel all the more worried, scared and guilty. Finally Jack made them land a few yards away from the house.

"Hey…" Sapphire mumbled, looking at Jack in confusion.

The winter spirit sighed. He had to tell her-_now_.

"Sapphire…When you saved Donnie from Pitch's Nightmares…The Man in the Moon had already chosen you as the next Guardian. So…when you fell in the creek down below Dropout Hill…He changed you into…something else." Jack said slowly, looking at the young girl's face for any reaction.

Sapphire had a blank look on her face, indicating that she had no idea what the winter spirit was saying.

Jack decided to be blunt and get to the point.

"You're no longer a normal human, Sapphire. You're…like me and the rest of the Guardians."

Sapphire's eyes widened at Jack's statement.

But she quickly got over her shock.

"No way, Jack. You _saved _me from drowning, remember?" she countered. "But like I said before, Manny _changed_ you into some sort of spirit. Some kind of immortal being. He did that when he saw you save Donnie. At the exact moment you were sinking, right before I saved you." Jack explained.

Sapphire shook her head, not buying it.

"I'll prove it to you that I'm still me. A regular human being." She said, marching up to her house's door. "_Mom! Dad! Donnie! I'm home!_" she yelled, loudly knocking on the door.

No response.

She tried again a couple more times only to get the same result.

"Man they're heavy sleepers…Sandy must've knocked them out real good." She muttered. Jack sighed and went over to her.

That's when Sapphire decided to test the doorknob.

To their surprise, the door easily opened.

"That's odd…We usually locked the house up 'til six in the morning." Sapphire said, confused as she went in. Jack decided to stay outside.

"Oh boy…This is going to end badly…" he mumbled to himself.

Sapphire was gonna have to find out the hard way.

Sapphire found her family in the living room, awake much to her surprise. Their eyes were puffy and red and they were dressed in black.

'_Who died?_' she thought, confused until she saw two candles burning, one candle on either side…_of her photo_.

Sapphire felt her insides tense up.

"Mom? Dad?..._Donnie…?_" she called out loudly. Donnie rubbed his eyes and looked in her direction.

"_Saph…? Sapphire it is you!_" he suddenly exclaimed, leaping up from his seat.

Sapphire grinned. For a second, she was starting to believe what Jack had told her.

But then her mom spoke up, "Donnie, what is it?"

Donnie was jumping up and down excitedly now.

"Sapphire's here! She's right here!" he whooped, waving to the spot where his sister stood.

"Donnie…I know you're sad about it…But…you can't just keep imagining that you're sister's there…when she isn't…" the two siblings' dad's words shocked them both.

"Say what now?! But I'm here! Right here!" Sapphire exclaimed, waving her arms wildly like windmills for emphasis.

"Mom, Dad, Sapphire's really _here._ She's standing right in front of you! Can't you see her?" Donnie asked worriedly.

His parents just looked at each other nervously.

"No…no…no…" Sapphire mumbled to herself, fearing the worst.

"Donnie…She's not there…We don't see her…" her dad said softly.

Donnie wouldn't give up.

"But Sapphire is…" he began to say before his mother finally exploded.

"Donnie stop this! Sapphire is _dead_! She's _dead _and she's never coming back! _Ever! _So stop pretending that she's there…Because she's not…" she snapped at him and began to sob.

Donnie glanced at his sister whose face was drained of color and back at his parents.

"But…they never found her body in the creek or anywhere around town…Maybe she's still alive…" Donnie whispered.

"It doesn't matter anymore, son…You're sister never came back…That means she's dead…" his dad said, avoiding eye contact with the little boy.

Donnie's eyes welled with tears.

"But I can see her…_I can see her_." He whimpered, his tiny voice quavering as doubt and anguish began to build up inside of him. His mom brushed a tear away from her eye.

"She's just a figment of your imagination honey…We've all imagined her being alive…Only to find out she's not real anymore…Donnie, just let it go…Sapphire is…_gone_." She said before sobbing again, her husband holding her close.

Donnie's face broke out in pure agony and he quickly ran out of the room.

"_Donnie!_" Sapphire yelped, jumping out of his way.

The little boy ran out of the house, sobbing.

Looking at her grief-stricken parents, Sapphire could feel her chest tightening. She then went out of the house, ran right past Jack and began shouting her little brother's name.

"_Donnie! Donnie! __**DONNIE!**_"

She wanted so badly for him to stop running, turn around, hug her, tell her it was all an act and that everything was okay. Donnie suddenly turned around after running a couple of yards, his face streaked with tears.

"Donnie please tell me that you're all playing a joke on me. _Please tell me this isn't happening!_" Sapphire begged, close to screaming.

Donnie forced himself to look down. This was starting to torture him and he wanted all the pain and agony of losing his sister to just stop.

"You're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination." He murmured.

Sapphire's eyes widened while Jack nervously bit his lip as he watched them from afar.

"But…_I'm right here_." Sapphire whispered, her voice dropping down an octave.

"No you're not!" Donnie yelled, frustrated.

"YES. I. AM! Look at me!" Sapphire shrieked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"I don't believe in you! _You're not real!_"

Upon shouting this, Donnie shut his eyes and ran back to his house.

"_Donnie!_" Sapphire yelped.

Then to her horror, her little brother ran right through her like she was nothing but air. Donnie kept his eyes shut tight as he bolted to his house and went inside, slamming the door behind him.

Sapphire suddenly sank to her knees. The tears that had been threatening to spill out of her eyes began to flow down her cheeks.

"Sapphire…" a soft voice came from behind her but she ignored it, even as Jack tried to comfort her by putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Go away, Jack. I want to be alone." Sapphire said coldly.

Jack then heard the low rumble of thunder and saw dark clouds forming in the sky.

"Sapphire I _really _think we should go. I think it's about to…" the Guardian of Fun began to say before Sapphire snapped at him.

"_Just leave me alone, Jack! Leave me alone!_" the young girl yelled, giving Jack a shove.

A little caught off-guard, Jack fell on his back onto the snow covered ground while Sapphire ran off, sobbing. North and the others arrived shortly to find Jack sprawled out on the ground.

"I take that the talk did not go so well?" North asked concerned as he helped Jack up. The winter spirit gave him a guilty look that said he was sorry.

"We told you to break it to her _gently_, mate." Bunny shook his head in disbelief. "I tried but she wouldn't believe me. She had to find out the hard way." Jack sighed.

Suddenly he felt a small drop of rain fall on his nose.

Soon, more drops came down until it was a full-on downpour.

Sandy made a large sand umbrella to shield himself and the others from the rain.

"_Rain in winter?_ That's strange. It should be snowing…_Jack?_" Tooth wondered aloud, glancing at Jack, worried that the winter spirit's emotions were a little bit frazzled.

Jack shook his head, indicating that he wasn't causing this.

As he put up his hood, Jack's thoughts wandered to Sapphire.

And that's when he realized something.

"We need to find Sapphire-_fast_." Jack said urgently.

Without another word, the Guardians got on the sleigh and took off in the direction Sapphire had gone.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Another chapter **_

_**Since it's my fifth update, I wanna thank all who have faved and followed my story.**_

_**A shout out to my reviewers**_

**JediKendalina **

**Keylo Allen **

**Elliichen **

_**Thanks so much for reviewing :D**_

_**Anyways, on with the story!**_

**Once again, I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 5**

Sapphire ignored the heavy downpour as she ran, wiping the tears running down her face. All she kept thinking about were the grief-stricken faces of her parents and Donnie's words.

'_I don't believe in you! You're not real!_'

'You're not real…'

'_You're not real…_'

'_**You're…not…real…**_'

She just couldn't believe that her family thought she was dead when she was still here.

_She was still here…_

Sapphire kept running, repeatedly slipping on rain puddles mixed with ice and snow. Finally she reached Dropout Hill and saw the Ledge.

Sapphire took one look at the stone outcropping and gasped.

One part of the Ledge was gone.

A sudden rush of memories overwhelmed her brain.

Falling into the creek…she felt like…something had changed.

Moonlight enveloped her body for just a few seconds before she was saved by Jack.

As she remembered all of this, Sapphire heard a voice saying, '_You are destined to become a heroine, my child. Over the course of your quest, you will encounter dangers of all sorts but will also meet allies and friends. And your powers will surprise you and everyone else. Believe in yourself, Sapphire Aquamarie. The time has come for you…to be a Guardian._'

Reality hit Sapphire hard like a freight train causing her to fall to her knees.

'_But I'm not ready! I'm just not ready!_' her mind screamed.

She wasn't ready to become a Guardian! She wasn't ready to leave her family and normal life behind! She was just a regular 16 year old teenager. She wasn't a heroine, she didn't have any powers…she wasn't a Guardian!

But Sapphire knew it was too late for her to change back into normal.

She really was a spirit now…

"No…no…no…" Sapphire sobbed as the rain kept pouring down.

"_Why me?! Why now?! WHY?!_" she screamed at the sky in agony, hoping for an answer. But the Man in the Moon wasn't there to hear her cries.

Sapphire just sat down and continued to cry. The harder she cried, the more rain poured down…

As the reindeer struggled to fly through the pouring rain, Jack managed to explain to his fellow Guardians the situation.

"A water spirit, mate? Manny changed the girl into a _water spirit?_" Bunny asked loudly.

Baby Tooth yelped as lightning split the sky and more rain poured down.

"It's just a theory but I think it's possible that's the reason why all this rain's coming down-it's linked to Sapphire's emotions! The more upset she gets, the more rain's going to come down!" Jack managed to yell over the loud rumble of thunder.

"Well if your theory's right Jack, then we need to find Sapphire and calm her down-before she floods Burgess!" North shouted urgently.

Suddenly Sandy jumped up and formed an arrow over his head, pointing down below as they flew over Dropout Hill. Jack peered down from the sleigh and saw a figure on the ground down below. Tooth saw it too.

"She's down there!" she cried out.

North quickly directed the sleigh to land near the Ledge. Jack then jumped out of the sleigh and went over to Sapphire cautiously.

"Sapphire…?" he said, slowly approaching her.

The girl looked over her shoulder but quickly looked away, sniffling. Jack was soon beside her and got down on one knee.

"I know you're scared and confused over all of this, Sapphire. But don't be scared. We're here for you. We'll figure this out together." He said comfortingly.

Sapphire faced him, her long brown hair sticking to the sides of her face and her eyes filled with despair. But Jack felt the rain slightly let up meaning that he was starting to get through her.

"But Jack I'm…I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I'm just so scared." Sapphire whispered, sobbing a little more.

For a second, Jack felt like he had just faced his little sister again.

He smiled gently at her.

"Don't be. We're here for you. And…I promise I won't let anything or anyone hurt you. Everything's going to be okay." He said softly.

Sapphire looked at him carefully. Jack's snow white hair was plastered to his forehead and he was completely soaked. But his icy blue eyes were full of kindness and trust, it comforted Sapphire. She let out another sob before flinging her arms around him, putting her head on his shoulder as she sobbed.

Jack was slightly taken aback but…he knew what Sapphire was going through now. Three hundred years ago, Jack had been all alone in the world. That's exactly what Sapphire was feeling right now. That she was all alone with no one to turn to.

Jack then wrapped his arms around Sapphire and hugged her back.

"I'm here Sapphire. Everything's going to be okay. _I promise._" The young Guardian whispered.

And he meant every word.

North, Bunny, Tooth, Baby Tooth and Sandy silently watched as the two teens embraced.

"Should we help him? Sapphire's still crying." Bunny whispered to Sandy who put a finger to his lips and shook his head.

"Maybe I should help out." Tooth suggested, her motherly instincts kicking in.

She and Baby Tooth were about to flutter over to the two when North held them back.

"She'll be alright. Jack knows what he's doing." He reassured them.

Suddenly the rain stopped.

"Promise me…you won't leave me alone, okay?" Sapphire sniffled, looking at Jack. "I won't. I promised, remember?" the winter spirit told her as he gently wiped away her tears which turned into drops of ice at his touch.

Finally Sapphire managed to crack a smile.

"So…what now?" Jack asked her, wondering what to do next now that Sapphire was well on her way to becoming one of the Guardians.

The brunette shrugged. "Right now…I just need to figure things out." She replied.

The two of them walked back to the sleigh and hopped in. The ride was silent almost the whole way, until the sleigh reached the Pond.

A loud screech startled the Guardians and suddenly, Nightmares chasing a giant white swan rushed past them!

"Shostakovich!" North exclaimed, yanking on the reins as they landed.

The Nightmares were still up in the air chasing the swan whose cries were growing more frantic.

"We gotta help!" Tooth cried as Baby Tooth chirped frantically.

Suddenly the swan uttered a wounded cry and crashed into the ice hard, creating a hole in the ice!

"Oh no!" Sapphire rushed over to the poor creature, slipping and skidding on the ice until she managed to reach the swan.

The poor thing was barely breathing and its eyes were shut. Sapphire then noticed a black arrow buried under its wing. Just as she was about to pull it out of the swan, a Nightmare spotted her and charged. The Guardians were busily fighting off the rest of the Nightmares and didn't notice.

Jack froze one Nightmare while Bunny tossed his boomerangs at another. Tooth and Baby Tooth zipped around, disorienting the others long enough for North to slash them with his swords. Sandy was fending off a couple of Nightmares with his dream sand whips when he saw that Sapphire was in danger. Frantically, he made a gold arrow pointing in Sapphire's direction. Jack turned in time to see the Nightmare headed straight for Sapphire!

"Behind you!" he yelled.

The young girl turned around and froze when she saw the fearsome black horse galloping towards her.

But then her brain screeched at her, '_Do SOMETHING!'_

Instinctively, Sapphire thrust her hands out in front of her in an attempt to shield herself.

And to everyone's shock including hers, water from the hole in the ice covered Pond shot out like a torpedo and hit the Nightmare straight in the chest!

"What the…?" Sapphire gasped as the Nightmare dissolved into black sand.

The other Nightmares began to advance towards her. Thinking fast, Sapphire waved her arms around in fluid, graceful motions. Streams of water followed her every move. She flicked her wrist at one Nightmare, sending a jet of water at it.

"Okay…Here we go!" she mumbled to herself.

Wielding water whips, Sapphire lashed out at the Nightmares, her arms whipping back and forth as she fought them off.

The Guardians watched her fight in awe.

"Looks like your water spirit theory's right on the nose." Bunny told Jack, his eyes wide in amazement.

"For a beginner, she's pretty good." North marveled.

But suddenly, a Nightmare caught Sapphire off guard and tackled her! With a grunt, Sapphire fell on the ice. Luckily she managed to create a water shield before it nearly stomped on her.

"Leave her alone!" Tooth shouted, flying over to her only to get blocked by another Nightmare.

Sapphire quickly blasted the Nightmare on top of her and sat up.

The Guardians were getting swarmed and even more Nightmares were starting to near the injured swan!

'_What do I do now?!_' she thought, panicking.

Then Sapphire looked down at the ice and got a brilliant idea.

Concentrating, Sapphire placed one hand on the ice, closed her eyes and raised her hand at the advancing Nightmares.

The ice began to rattle and shake, startling the Nightmares and the Guardians. Sandy formed a question mark over his head, confused.

Jack noticed that cracks were beginning to form on the ice and figured out Sapphire's plan.

"Guys we need to back off! _Move!_" he shouted.

The Guardians hustled off the Pond. Sapphire's eyes then flashed open, now glowing a bright blue and all of a sudden, water spurted out of the ice like geysers right underneath the Nightmares, dissolving them all into black sand!

Sapphire blinked once and the glow vanished from her eyes as she took a few deep breaths to compose herself.

Then she heard a weak cry and remembered the swan.

She scrambled over to the swan and quickly yanked the arrow out which crumbled into black sand. But the swan was barely breathing now and the feathers under its wing were stained with blood.

"No…Please don't die…Please don't…" Sapphire whispered burying her face in the swan's soft white feathers, tears slipping out of her eyes.

One of her tears landed on the spot where the black arrow had been lodged in. At that exact moment, the Guardians also noticed that the charm on Sapphire's necklace was softly glowing. Sapphire removed her face from the swan's feathers and noticed that the wound was healing and the blood was fading away.

"Sapphire how are you doing that?" North asked in amazement. "No idea…" the young girl replied with a shrug before noticing the black sand clinging to her hands.

"Uh Sandy…little help, please?" she said nervously, trying to shake the sand off. Sandy gently touched the black Nightmare sand and transformed it into gold dream sand. "Thanks…" Sapphire sighed with relief, shaking the loose sand off.

But suddenly…

'_**Crrraaaccckkk!**_

Sapphire only had a second to squeak "_Yipes!_" before she fell through the ice and into the water!

"_Sapphire!_" Jack shouted, making a frantic dive for her before North tugged him back before he touched the water.

"Easy there, mate! You'll just freeze the hole over!" Bunny warned him.

Jack calmed down a bit but was still worried.

"She knows how to swim, right? _Right?_" Tooth asked worriedly as Baby Tooth flitted about the hole, watching the air bubbles rising to the surface.

The Guardians were now anxiously watching the hole, waiting for Sapphire to come up.

But minutes passed and she didn't come up for air.

Sandy formed a fish hook over his head, expressing his idea of fishing her out.

"Where is she?" Tooth asked worriedly.

Jack didn't say anything as he was too busy waiting for Sapphire to come up.

'_Come on, Sapphire…Come on!_' he thought, worrying a great deal for the young girl and hoping she was alright.

'_This…is…amazing…_'

Sapphire on the other hand, was enjoying the underwater view.

At first she was panicking until she realized that she could breathe underwater. A light blue glow surrounded her body and gold flecks of light shimmered around her, allowing complete visibility.

And the place was incredible.

Colorful fish swam gracefully around her and the bottom of the Pond was covered with all kinds of aquatic plants.

"Cool…" Sapphire said out loud before gasping and putting a hand to her throat.

She could _talk underwater _too!

Then she saw something sparkling at the bottom of the Pond.

Curious, she swam down deeper until her hands brushed the pond bed. Sifting through the aquatic plants and sand, Sapphire found a hexagon-shaped gem.

'_This looks pretty…Huh…The color's the same…as Jack's eyes…_' she thought dreamily.

Good thing she was underwater and only the fish could see her blush-and give comments. Turns out she could understand what fish were saying as well.

As Sapphire was trying to process all these new discoveries, the gem began to glow.

And was it Sapphire's imagination, or was the gem _shaking _in her hands?!

"AHHHH!" Sapphire screamed as she suddenly hurtled upwards to the surface.

She burst out of the water, went up a few feet into the air and when the gem stopped glowing, gravity pulled her back down.

"Yikes!" Sapphire yelped, half-expecting herself to fall into the water again but instead, Jack caught her in his arms, bridal style.

Bunny inwardly giggled while Tooth and Baby Tooth just looked at each other and smiled. Sandy smiled knowingly as they watched the two teens stare at each other for a second before Jack gently put Sapphire down.

"Good save, Jack." North murmured, giving the Guardian of Fun a pat on the back.

Jack just looked down at the ground, his ears turning red. Sapphire just blushed and lightly laughed the incident off.

Then she saw the swan get up and waddle towards her.

"Oh! Thank goodness, you're okay!" she exclaimed as the swan lowered its beautiful head to let her pet it.

And then the swan opened its beak.

"Thank you for saving my life. I owe you one big time." The swan said in a gentle female voice.

Sapphire's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"You okay, mate?" Bunny's ears pricked up and he cocked his head in confusion.

Sapphire looked at the Guardians and back at the swan.

"They can't understand me-_yet._ Only you can since you're a water spirit." The swan explained.

Sapphire nodded and turned back to the others. "Okay this might sound crazy…But the swan's talking to me." She began.

Sandy just gave her a confused look.

"You can understand what it's saying?" Jack asked her, surprised. "Actually it is a _she._ She says that since I'm a water spirit I can talk to all kinds of aquatic animals." Sapphire smiled upon seeing the Guardians' awestruck expressions.

She turned back to the swan.

"My name's _Marina_ by the way. I'll be your guide to the Palace of Beginnings. Mother Nature and Father Time are requesting your presence immediately." As Marina talked, Sapphire translated her swan calls to the Guardians.

Tooth perked up at the last sentence.

"Mother Nature & Father need our help?" she asked Marina who nodded her head.

"Rimsky Korsakov! We haven't been to their Palace in ages!" North said in wonder, herding the Guardians to the sleigh.

"Must be something big…" Bunny remarked and Sandy nodded in agreement.

"All six of us have to go?" Jack asked, since he had never been to this so-called Palace of Beginnings before. Marina nodded again and turned to Sapphire.

"You can ride on me if you like." She offered, showing that she had a saddle strapped to her back. Sapphire took one look and slowly nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey 'yo :D I'm back! Here's Chapter 6. As always feel free to read and review.**_

_**Once again, I do NOT own ROTG.**_

**Chapter 6**

Sapphire climbed onto Marina's back as the Guardians got on the sleigh.

"Hold onto the reins!" Marina instructed.

Sapphire obediently nodded and grabbed hold of the reins.

"_Whoa!_" she hollered as the giant white swan took a running start. "_Eek!_" Sapphire squeaked as Marina flapped her great wings and lifted off.

Pretty soon they were high up in the air and the sleigh joined them.

"Portal's open! We're going in!" Marina called out, motioning with her head at a glowing pulse of light up ahead.

Sapphire guided her with the reins and all of a sudden, the pulse of light opened up into a portal with a great flash, making Sapphire shut her eyes.

Then Marina shot into the portal at top speed!

"_Gyaahhh!_" Sapphire's screams echoed as they went in followed by the Guardians in the sleigh.

"Hey Sapphire! Open your eyes! Check out the view!" Jack's voice broke into Sapphire's thoughts.

Carefully the young girl opened her eyes and saw Jack hovering near her and Marina.

Then her deep blue eyes took in the view before her.

"…_Wow…_" she breathed in awe.

The portal had taken them to a paradise of all paradises.

Great trees crowded vast mountain ranges and rolling hills, lush with greenery, could be seen as well. Plants of all kinds grew everywhere-from small shrubs to vines with colorful flowers. The forests teemed with life. Animals of all shapes and sizes roamed about as colorful birds sailed through the calm blue sky. And springs, ponds, lakes and rivers teemed with marine life. In the very center of this paradise, a beautiful gleaming gold and white palace stood on a high plateau where a thundering waterfall was flowing down.

"This has got to be the most beautiful place I've ever seen." Sapphire marveled.

Marina laughed. "Want to have a whirlwind of a tour?" Sapphire grinned. "Do I ever!" she giggled.

Marina zoomed around the area. Sapphire whooped with delight as she looked around. The animals were very friendly and birds sang as they flew around the trees.

But the best part was when they flew near the water.

Whenever Sapphire and Marina went near a spring, lake or river, fish popped out of the water to greet her.

"Hello! Nice to meet you! Hi!" she laughed as Marina decided to fly her up to the waterfall so she could touch the glorious spray and watch as the sunlight formed a rainbow in the mists.

Looking up at the Palace of Beginnings, Sapphire noticed that North's sleigh had already landed.

"That's enough sightseeing for today. Let's join the others." She told Marina and guided her up to the Palace.

"That was so much fun!" the young girl smiled as she got off the swan.

"My handler always says that too whenever we fly. You'll like her, Sapphire. She's really nice." Marina smiled as she preened her feathers.

Just then, the large doors to the Palace opened.

"Oh that's probably her." Marina said smiling.

"Marina! Have the Guardians come?" A little girl called out as she stepped out.

The girl had shoulder length brown hair, blue-green eyes and freckles spread across her nose. She wore a knee-length dress with flowers sewn into the bodice and had a red daisy tucked behind her right ear. She also had a pair of shimmering green butterfly wings sprouting from her back.

"Oh you're already here. North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, Jack Frost and the new Guardian recruit am I…" she said looking at each one of them before stopping in mid-sentence as she noticed Sapphire.

Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open and Sapphire mirrored her reaction.

Jack cocked his head quizzically. What was up with them?

Then he noticed it.

The little girl, save for her shoulder length hair, blue-green eyes and freckles, was the spitting image of Sapphire.

About five seconds passed before the girl with wings whispered. "…_Sapphire?_"

Another five seconds passed before Sapphire answered back with, "…_Layla?_"

The two girls walked towards each other and carefully looked at one another from head to toe.

Then to the Guardians surprise, shrieked with joy.

"IT IS YOU!" before twirling about round and round, like a giddy carousel.

"I can't believe it! You're here! You're really here!" Sapphire exclaimed, laughing merrily. "You too! You too! I can't believe it either!" Layla giggled.

When they stopped spinning, they hugged each other tightly.

"I've missed you so much…" Sapphire whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Layla patted her back. "I've missed you too. What about Mom & Dad? And Donnie? They're okay?" she asked.

Sapphire took a deep breath to compose herself before replying. "Well yeah…But they think I'm…you know…" she said quietly. "Oh…So Manny chose…_you?_" Layla said in surprise.

Sapphire nodded.

Then she looked at Jack and the other Guardians who were staring at them both.

"Oh yeah! Guys…This is my little sister, Layla." She introduced her sister to the Guardians.

"Who would've thought? My handler's actually your sister!" Marina laughed.

Layla then fastened a small collar around the swan's neck.

"I finally worked all the bugs out. Your translator should work just fine now." She mumbled. "You're sister's amazing, Layla. She practically saved my life."

The Guardians did a double take at Marina as she spoke, at a loss for words.

Marina then explained to Layla the whole story. The 11 year old was amazed.

"You can control water and your tears can heal?" she asked, open-mouthed. "Well…apparently." Sapphire just shrugged. "Wow…" her sister breathed in awe before North promptly harrumphed.

"Whoops! Right, come this way. Mother Nature & Father Time are waiting for you." Layla said cheerfully and led them through the doors.

The hallway they were now in was probably the whitest place Jack and Sapphire had ever seen.

Snow white pillars stood at the sides and the walls and ceilings were colorless. Even the floor was spotless.

"Either we've entered Heaven's gates or they have a really good cleaning service here." Sapphire said in awe.

Jack blinked his eyes a few times. "Is it just me or is the whole place _glowing?_" he wondered out loud.

True enough, the hallway did seem to be bathed in pure white light.

Finally they reached the end of the hall. Two golden doors swung open, revealing a much more colorful throne room.

Beautiful paintings of man and nature covered the walls and rich, lifelike tapestries of the sun, moon and stars hung over the high arched ceilings, looming above the Guardians' heads.

In the center of the room, two figures sat on two intricately carved wooden thrones.

"Mother Nature and Father Time, the Guardians have arrived." Layla announced, doing a graceful curtsy.

North, Tooth, Baby Tooth, Bunny, Sandy and Marina bowed respectfully along with Jack and Sapphire who were looking at the two throne occupants curiously.

Seated on a throne carved with a clock symbol was a somewhat thin, frail-looking old man wearing brass spectacles. His gray beard had to be at least six to seven feet in length yet despite that, his head showed no signs of balding and his magnified eyes were still sharp. He wore a rich purple robe and a black cloak over his shoulders. A wooden cane with an hourglass was in his right hand and perched on his left was a Whiskered Screech with big amber eyes.

"Staring is rude, don't you know that?" it asked in a low hoot when it noticed Jack and Sapphire ogling. Both teens jumped up in surprise upon hearing the owl talk in a male tone.

"Now, now Millennium be gentle. It's their first time here, is it not?" Father Time chuckled to his pet. "And I believe we haven't introduced ourselves to Jack Frost and the new Guardian recruit, am I right dear?" Mother Nature smiled from her flower carved throne.

She was a beautiful lady with light evergreen skin, eyes as deep blue as the sky and Sapphire's and wore a long flowing green gown covered with flowers.

But the one thing that made Mother Nature really stand out was something that both amazed and creeped Jack and Sapphire out at the same time.

"Her hair…" Jack whispered to Sapphire as he leaned towards her.

Sapphire slightly nodded in agreement, her eyes as wide as plates.

"Her hair is alive…" she muttered, utterly awestruck.

Indeed it was.

Mother Nature's long flowing hair seemed to house an entire earth in it. And it was moving like a vine, writhing and twisting as flowers bloomed, small leaves sprouted and the occasional bird, rodent or insect peeked out of her hair.

Mother Nature looked at the two teens' shocked expressions and laughed.

"I get that expression all the time when people see me for the first time. But it doesn't bother me one bit because I can create." She said gently. "Create what?" Sapphire asked curiously.

One lock of hair glided towards her.

"Everything, my dear. Animals and plants. Nature abounds in me for I am Nature itself." Mother Nature replied as a water lily bloomed in her hair in front of Sapphire.

Another lock of her hair plucked the lily off and placed it on Sapphire's head. Jack carefully took it and tucked it behind Sapphire's right ear.

Sapphire blushed. "Thank you." She said softly. Jack blushed and mumbled, "You're welcome…"

Layla cocked her head at Tooth who gave her a coy grin.

"As for me…Bunny, think fast!" Father Time spoke up and tossed a wooden ball in the rabbit's direction.

"I got it!" Bunny leaped up to catch it just as the old man tapped his cane and the sand in the hourglass stopped moving.

Instantly Bunny froze in mid-air!

"Whoa…Way too cool…" Jack said in awe and giggled as Layla flew up and rearranged Bunny's frozen pose to make him look like a ballerina.

"Layla…" Sapphire sighed but silently laughed at Bunny's ridiculous pose.

"As I was saying, I can manipulate time. Of course I can't turn back the clock for time moves forward not backwards. But I can speed it up, slow it down and freeze it at will." Father Time then tapped his cane once again and the grains of sand in the hourglass started pouring down again. Millennium churred with amusement as Bunny unfroze and landed on the ground, still in ballet position.

"What the…?" Bunny muttered before the ball that had frozen with him landed on his head, making him yelp and everyone else laugh.

"All joking aside, Mother Nature and Father Time what have you summoned us here for?" North spoke up.

The Guardians looked expectantly at the two great beings.

"Does it have anything to do with…_Pitch?_" Tooth asked carefully. "I'm afraid so, Toothiana. He's back." Mother Nature informed them.

"And it seems he's brewed up a new plan to not only threaten the children, but perhaps the entire human race." Father Time said gravely.

The Guardians, Layla and Sapphire looked at each other worriedly.

Things had suddenly taken a dramatic turn…

"So what do you want us to do?" Bunny asked.

Father Time waved a hand at the largest tapestry hanging up in the ceiling and a giant arrangement of the sun, moon and earth appeared.

"Pitch intends to release his entire army of Nightmares at the exact same time the moon will be blocked in a total lunar eclipse. With the greatest light at night blocked, the Nightmares will get stronger and stronger during that period. If they reach full strength…not only will the children be targeted but everyone else in the world will become targets for fear." He explained as the sun and moon eclipsed, darkening the throne room.

Layla gulped and took shelter under the crook of her sister's arm. The Guardians tensed up, seeing as they were going up against a very serious threat.

"So we just need to stop Pitch before the lunar eclipse?" Sapphire asked nervously. "When's that going to happen?" Jack piped up.

"In four days time but…That's not the only task that needs to be done…Sandy if I recall correctly 300 years have already passed since the last time, am I correct?" Mother Nature looked at Sandy with an expectant smile on her face.

The Sandman looked confused for a second and then his face lit up and he nodded.

Mother Nature and Father Time noticed their guests' confused expressions.

"It's best that we show you." Mother Nature said as she and her husband rose from their thrones.

"Come." Father Time told them as Millennium flew off, leading the way.

Curious, the small group followed the two great beings out of the throne room and down the hall, taking a few twists and turns until they came to a small heavy wooden door with a brass padlock.

"I've never seen this door before…" Marina remarked. She had lived in the Palace of Beginnings her whole life and had thought she had memorized the whole place like the shafts of her feathers. Yet this part of the Palace was unfamiliar to her.

Layla pulled out a set of keys from her dress pocket.

"The smallest key, my dear." Mother Nature instructed her.

"I thought this key didn't open doors." Layla said, confused.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you about where all the keys fit in, Layla. But some doors were not yet meant to be opened until now." Father Time said apologetically as he put the key in the lock and unlocked the door.

The two great beings led the small party down a stairwell, going down to the depths of the Palace.

As they reached the bottom of the stairwell, torches illuminated a tunnels filled with paintings. As they walked, Mother Nature explained to them the task at hand.

"Every 300 years, the Scepter of Creation must be reassembled and placed onto the Pedestal of Beginnings in order to maintain the balance of nature and time. The Scepter is kept here but the Pedestal moves constantly from time to time in different locations around the world-you never know where it'll show up." She said, showing them a painting of nature and time in harmony between a silver scepter that had five gems set in them.

"Sandy was the last one assigned by Manny to do the task 300 years ago. Last time, the Pedestal was hidden deep in the Amazon Jungle. I believe you had a bit of a hard time getting past some Venus Flytraps, am I right Sandy?" Father Time said, smiling a little.

The Sandman slightly cringed as he recalled the experience.

"Where do you keep the Scepter anyway?" Layla asked.

"It's kept in a special area underground. The surroundings of the area change according to the nature of the task bearer. If Jack's the one chosen, it'll take on the appearance of a winter landscape." Millennium explained.

"Don't tell me it's me…" Jack mumbled nervously.

"It was just an example." Sapphire reassured him before adding, "And besides, you won't be alone in doing it. We'll help you." Before they came to a gleaming white door and Father Time produced another key to unlock the door.

As the door swung open, pure golden light streamed out, startling the Guardians into shutting their eyes.

When they opened them again, what they saw was breathtakingly beautiful.

Ringed by vegetation was a large lake with a huge waterfall. The thundering water was flowing into the lake in great cascades, the mist making a rainbow in the sky.

"Wow…" Sapphire breathed in awe.

"Whoa…" Jack agreed with her.

Layla carefully took in the scenery.

"Okay, so if it's full of water does that mean…_Sapphire's _supposed to do the task?" she piped up.

The two great beings nodded.

"Me? All by myself?" Sapphire asked apprehensively. "Don't worry you won't be alone." Tooth reassured her.

"If all of us have been summoned here, it means that we may help you." North said. "We Guardians stick together, mate." Bunny added and nodded in agreement.

Sapphire nodded but still felt pretty nervous.

Reassembling something that keeps nature and time all over the world balanced? Who knows how hard that's going to be! And a Pedestal that keeps changing location? It's going to make the task all the more challenging combined with the four days deadline as well as stopping Pitch Black! Why, Sapphire didn't even know where to start!

Jack noticed the uncertainty in her eyes. Good thing he was standing next to her.

He leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "You're gonna do fine. We'll be with you every step of the way." Sapphire glanced at Jack who gave her a warm smile and she smiled back.

Feeling a little more confident, Sapphire went to the lake, followed by the Guardians, Mother Nature, Father Time, Millennium, Layla and Marina.

"The Scepter's hidden behind the waterfall, I presume?" Sapphire inquired. "And only you can calm the falls." Millennium answered.

The young girl looked at the lake's sparkling waters.

Carefully, she placed one foot on top of the surface.

But nothing happened and the falls still flowed.

"Well…Making direct contact didn't work…What to do…?" Sapphire muttered.

She started to pace around in a circle, like she always did whenever she was thinking.

Suddenly she became aware that the others were staring at her, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open.

That's when Sapphire looked down at her feet and saw that she was standing right on top of the lake's surface without sinking in.

She could _walk _on water.

Sapphire turned to the waterfall and took another step, and another and another…until she was standing right in front of the thundering waterfall.

She cautiously held both hands out in front of her and made a gesture that resembled pulling curtains apart.

As if in response, the water flowing from the falls parted into two curtains of water, revealing a cave.

_**Well now you know what Mother Nature and Father Time look like. And yes, Mother Nature's hair's got a mind of its own. Also now you guys know that Layla, Sapphire's supposedly deceased little sister, is my special OC! Surprised, huh?**_

_**Anyways, thanks for viewing Read and review whenever you like ;)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Another update, yay! In this chapter, we'll be able to see Sapphire in action and the legendary Scepter of Creation **_

_**Oh! And keep your eyes peeled 'cause soon I'll be uploading my first HTTYD FanFic. The title: The Fiersome Chronicles. It's a story to look forward to.**_

_**Anyways, on with the show!  
**_**Disclaimer Note: I do NOT own ROTG. All rights go to DreamWorks.**

**Chapter 7**

"Watch your steps, the rocks around here start to get slippery." Mother Nature warned the others as they made their way deeper into the cave.

As soon as the cave had been revealed, Jack had made an ice path for them to cross. Now, they were slowly making their way into the depths of the cave. There was a single rock path winding through the cave and water was dripping through cracks in the walls, making the ground slippery and wet. Moonstones growing out of the walls glowed brightly, providing sufficient illumination as the small party went on.

Sapphire and Jack were the ones leading, Layla close behind them while the Guardians lagged behind. Jack was beside Sapphire, the water turning into ice with his every step. His presence reassured Sapphire who every now and then glanced at him whenever he wasn't looking and smiled, quickly looking away whenever Jack turned his head towards her.

Layla noticed that every time.

And she also noticed that Jack would do the same thing too!

Every time her sister looked away, Jack would glance at her and smile as well. She turned to the Guardians for an explanation.

'_Love bug_' Bunny mouthed to her.

The little girl giggled silently and turned her attention back to the two teens who seemed to get closer and closer to each other until…

"Your fingers are touching." Layla blurted out, unable to contain herself.

Jack and Sapphire looked down at their hands. True enough, their fingers were close to interlocking.

"Okay…This is kind of…" Sapphire said uneasily, her cheeks turning red.

"…Awkward?" Jack finished for her, turning even redder.

"…Yep…" Sapphire said in agreement before they both took a step away from each other.

North, Bunny, Tooth, Baby Tooth and Sandy just laughed.

"Ah…Young love…" Father Time whispered. "Young love indeed." Mother Nature murmured, amused.

Even Millennium and Marina laughed softly.

Soon they reached the deepest part of the cave that was illuminated by hundreds of glowing moonstones. A gaping hole at the top of the cave revealed the full moon glowing overhead.

"Amazing…" Layla breathed in awe.

"It's beautiful…" Sapphire agreed with her.

Marina looked around. "Where's the Scepter of Creation?" she asked.

Mother Nature looked at Sapphire with a small smile on her face. "Our task bearer should perhaps consult with Manny. Only he knows where it is." She suggested.

Nodding slightly, Sapphire walked to the spot directly under the moon and looked up.

"What do I do now?" she asked. "Try talking to him." Father Time replied.

A little apprehensive about talking to the moon, Sapphire cleared her throat, looked directly at the moon and carefully asked, "Manny…would you be so kind to tell me where…the…Scepter of Creation…is?"

A few minutes passed before a moonbeam suddenly shone down on the spot where Sapphire was standing which was still water. Sapphire looked down at her feet to find the symbol of the Guardians glowing right underneath her. The moonstones were now glowing even brighter.

Suddenly as if by some unknown force, Sapphire was pulled into the water!

"Saph!" Layla cried, fluttering over to where her sister had stood.

"What do we do?! She could drown!" Layla exclaimed worriedly. "Your sister's a water spirit, Layla. She's fine." Jack reassured her.

A little unsure despite the winter spirit's reassurance, Layla fluttered over to Marina and petted her as they all waited and watched the water.

Sapphire carefully scanned the bottom of the lake.

'_If I got pulled down here, then that means the Scepter's here underwater._' She thought as she swam around.

Then she saw it.

On a stone dais stood a magnificent scepter made of gleaming pure silver. The head was shaped like an upside-down pentagon and a moonstone was set in the center top part, the symbol of the Guardians prominently etched onto it.

Smiling, Sapphire swam over to it.

But suddenly, two figures darted right past her and firmly positioned themselves between her and the Scepter. The two figures turned out to be two teenage girls like her, only they had fish tails instead of legs.

"Mermaids!" she gasped.

One of the mermaids who had long auburn hair went closer to her.

"My name is Melanie. And this is my sister, Melody." She said waving to the other mermaid with short sand colored hair. Melody went over to Sapphire as well.

"We're the ones who guard the Scepter of Creation. Are you the next task bearer?" she asked.

"Um…yes." Sapphire said uneasily.

"Who has sent you?" the two mermaid sisters said in unison.

"The Man in the Moon. I…I'm the new Guardian." Sapphire replied, this time with a little more confidence.

Upon hearing this, Melanie and Melody smiled and allowed her to go to the dais. Sapphire took a deep breath, placed her hands on the Scepter's handle and easily lifted it up.

"We see challenges headed your way, young Guardian." Melody warned her. "But believe in yourself and everything will be alright." Melanie added, handing Sapphire a cloth bundle.

Sapphire nodded and suddenly, the Scepter glowed and she began to shoot up towards the surface.

"Good luck!" the two mermaids hollered.

Sapphire then burst out of the water, still holding on tightly to the Scepter.

"You okay, sis?" Layla asked worriedly. "I think so…I got the Scepter and…this." The young girl replied, holding the Scepter in her left hand, the bundle the two mermaids gave her in her right.

"Where'd you get that?" Marina asked, poking at the bundle with her beak. "The mermaid sisters who guarded the Scepter gave it to me." Sapphire answered.

"Melanie and Melody are usually very fierce when it comes to guarding the Scepter of Creation. But if you're the next task bearer or trustworthy, they mellow out." Mother Nature smiled.

Sapphire untied the bundle. Inside it was a gleaming red dagger in a leather scabbard, a big blue aquamarine set in the hilt.

"Why would they give me a dagger?" Sapphire wondered out loud. "You will need it on your journey to reassemble the Scepter. One can never tell when fear will attempt to strike." Father Time told her gently.

"But the Scepter doesn't look broken to me. Why do we still have to 'reassemble' it?" Jack piped up.

"You see the Scepter of Creation needs six special gems to fully gain power. You'll have to go on a journey to find them but luckily, Sandy and Sapphire already have _two _of the gems." Mother Nature said with a knowing smile.

Sandy pulled a circular topaz gem hanging by a white cord around his neck and handed it to Millennium. The owl held the gemstone close to the Scepter and it magically flew from his talons and wedged itself in a circular dent that magically appeared in the upper right hand corner. The blue gem from the Pond suddenly flew out of Sapphire's coat pocket and placed itself at the bottom point of the Scepter's head.

"How'd you get the other one?" Layla asked curiously.

Her sister glanced at Jack.

"I…found it at the bottom of the Pond. I was thinking of…giving it to someone." She mumbled, still looking at the winter spirit.

Jack looked at the blue gem in the Scepter and realized that Sapphire meant to give it to _him._ He didn't say anything but shyly smiled. The young girl smiled as well.

"Well now that we have the Scepter, I think we should begin Sapphire's training, no?" North piped up. Mother Nature and Father Time nodded in agreement.

"Oh, oh, oh! I know the perfect place! Follow me!" Layla said excitedly flying off somewhere. The Guardians looked at each other and quickly followed her.

The place Layla led them to was virtually free from any distractions with the exception of a small pool of water. The entire place was completely bare and white.

"Okay…what kind of training do you guys have in mind?" Sapphire asked, eager to start learning the Guardian ropes. Father Time stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"I say we get physical. Get into a little tussle to see if she could hold her own." Bunny suggested.

"You mean sparring?" Tooth asked, a little bit apprehensive about the idea of Bunny fighting with a young lady.

Even the others thought it might be a bit too extreme. Jack especially didn't feel comfortable seeing Sapphire sparring with Bunny. He'd sparred with the Guardian of Hope in training sessions before and those training sessions were the most painful wrestling matches he'd ever experienced.

Oddly enough, Sapphire looked calm.

"Don't hold back, Bunny. Show me what you've got." She said, coolly assuming a fighting stance.

Bunny grinned and charged toward Sapphire.

To everyone's shock, Sapphire caught hold of Bunny's left arm & twisted it behind his back! A bit stunned but still raring to go, Bunny began to execute some moves, only to get blocked and pinned down by Sapphire every time!

Layla could see that everyone watching was completely shocked.

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you. Sapphire's knows boxing, judo _and _is a black belter in _both _karate and tae kwon do. She's also a mixed martial arts specialist." She said nonchalantly.

Jack looked as Bunny was taken down in every way imaginable by Sapphire.

"Remind me never to make your sister mad." He said to Layla, feeling slightly queasy.

"Shostakovich…Bunny's getting the borscht beaten out of him." North said in awe.

Sandy and Baby Tooth nodded in agreement.

Tooth just sighed as Sapphire caught Bunny in another pin hold.

"Had enough?" she said, smiling.

Panting, Bunny nodded and the girl released her grip. Flopping on the floor, the rabbit gave everybody a thumbs-up.

"She knows how to fight-_really well._" He wheezed, reeling from the beat down. Tooth helped him up and rubbed his aching back.

"Physical strength and abilities are good. Now how about using weapons?" North said, unsheathing his sword.

Sapphire fingered her dagger apprehensively. Luckily, North wasn't planning on sword fighting. Instead, the Russian taught her how to handle the dagger. In no time, Sapphire was expertly parrying, thrusting and twirling her dagger like a pro.

"Klassno! Very good!" North boomed jovially. The young girl felt proud.

Then Mother Nature spoke up. "Well fighting and weapons seem to be easy. Now we must see if you can control your element-_water._"

Sapphire immediately looked worried.

"Don't be afraid, my dear. You're a water spirit. Controlling water is in your blood." Father Time reassured her.

"Well I've only been a water spirit for just one day…Not really sure if I can control my powers like a professional." Sapphire mumbled. "Just do what you did back at the Pond. You'll do great." Jack said supportively.

Sapphire blushed a little bit and went near the pool of water. Concentrating, she used her arms to summon a stream of water and began to bend and manipulate it with graceful movements.

"You can also control the water with your mind." Millennium told her. Following the owl's suggestion, Sapphire mentally commanded the water to shoot up into the air like a fountain and it obeyed.

Getting psyched, Sapphire began walking on the water, moving her body in fluid, graceful movements as she commanded the water to morph into shields, tight streams, whips, curtains and veils. All the while, the sapphire on her necklace glowed brighter and brighter. When she reached the center of the pool, Sapphire closed her eyes and placed her palms together as if in meditation. The water began to churn and light sprays of mist covered the atmosphere.

Suddenly, Sapphire's eyes flashed open, glowing bright blue.

A water spout propelled her up.

Raising her arms up, the water in the pool formed into towering waves around Sapphire. The Guardians watched in awe as Sapphire threw her arms down, causing the waves to come crashing down as well. Her charm soon lost its glow as Sapphire came safely back down and the glow in her eyes faded.

"Whoa…I just felt so…wow…" she mumbled, still in shock over how she accomplished such a feat. "A. Powerful? B. Invincible? C. Energized?" Layla asked her, smiling.

Her big sister broke into a wide grin. "D. All of the above." She replied as Jack came up to her.

"That…was incredible." He complimented, really impressed. "Thanks!" Sapphire giggled.

"Looks like you can handle your powers just fine. How about you take a break?" Tooth suggested, smiling.

"Good idea…" Bunny groaned, still feeling sore. "A fine suggestion from both of you. It's almost sundown, anyway." Mother Nature said brightly.

With that, they all left the chamber. After the room arrangements had been made, Layla took her sister and Jack to a gate just outside the Palace of Beginnings.

"I want to show you guys my most favorite place here-the Seasonal Gardens." She said, unlocking the gate and taking them inside.

Sapphire and Jack only had a few minutes to admire the Gardens' entrance's splendor as Layla took them on a whirlwind tour.

The Seasonal Gardens was divided into four special sections, each representing one of the four seasons.

The Spring division was full of blooming flowers, budding blossoms, fresh green grass and new life everywhere.

The Summer part had lush green trees, seashells, streams, rivers and buzzing bees and pretty fireflies as night had arrived.

Autumn was full of brown, red and gold leaves raining down from the trees along with squirrels, chipmunks and other forest animals scampering around looking for nuts and berries.

Finally, they arrived at the Winter station.

Icicles hung down from the leafless trees and snow was softly falling down onto the icy ground. Frozen puddles shone like stepping stone stars.

"I figured you might like this part of the Gardens, Jack. What do you think?" Layla said, smiling.

Jack took one look at the area and grinned.

"This is the perfect place for a snowball fight!" he exclaimed when suddenly…_Bap!_ A snowball hit him from behind.

Shocked, the Guardian of Fun spun around to see Sapphire smiling, holding two snowballs in her hands.

"Oooohhh…Two against one, how fun!" Layla giggled, making a snowball of her own.

"Fire at will!" Sapphire laughed as she and her sister began to pelt Jack.

"Hey! No fair! Haha!" the winter spirit laughed as he struck back until they were all having a snowball fight, pelting each other for all their worth.

After that, the three of them played tag, running around the trees for several minutes until they finally collapsed on a snowdrift in a fit of giggles, making snow angels.

"This has been such a fun day!" Layla whooped. Sapphire smiled.

That's when she remembered something.

"Wait…Layla…How did you get here? And…since when did you sprout wings?" I thought after…the accident you were…you know…" she said softly.

Layla glanced at her big sister's concerned face and became quiet.

Jack sat up, shaking the snow out of his hair. "What do you mean…_accident?_" he asked, cocking his head curiously.

Layla and Sapphire looked at each other, sighed and began to tell the story…

_**Leaving you guys on a little cliffhanger for now :D Next chapter you'll know how Layla gained her wings and the quest to find the gems officially begins.**_

_**And I highly recommend you all listen to 'What If the Storm Ends' by Snow Patrol while reading the part of Sapphire demonstrating her abilities. You won't be disappointed ;)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight is here! And get ready for some sisterly angst and a dose of funny fluff!**

**Disclaimer Note: I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 8**

'_It was another bright, sunny day in Florida._

_And Sapphire and Layla were ready to hang ten._

"Come on Saph! The waves are coming!" _Layla called out to her sister. She was already wearing her green surfing suit and holding her green andblue surfboard._

"Okay! Be there in a sec." _Sapphire replied, who was wearing a black surfing outfit with blue outlines. Quickly she grabbed her blue and white surfboard._

"You two be careful."_ Their mother reminded them._

"Head straight to shore when there's a storm warning, okay? The air's been pretty warm and heavy lately."_ Their dad said, checking their house's outdoor thermometer._

"Got it, dad!"_ Layla shouted, already headed for the beach. "_We'll be fine. Don't worry." _Sapphire added, sprinting to catch up as Donnie watched them from the front porch._

"When can I go surfing?"_ he asked as he helped organize his parents' research notes._

_Sapphire heard that and yelled back, _"We'll teach you tomorrow, Don!" _When Donnie heard that, he grinned from ear to ear._

"Yay!"_ he whooped, hopping around, already excited._

_Meanwhile Layla and Sapphire had already gone into the water._

"Ready to shoot some curls, sis?"_ Sapphire asked coyly. _"You bet!" _Layla smiled as they saw the first wave coming in._

"_**Surf's up!**__" Sapphire shouted as they caught it._

_In no time, the two sisters were sailing through the waves like graceful seabirds and gleefully wiping out near the shore several times. The day flew by and soon it was already late afternoon._

_And that was when the rain began to fall._

"Well this is unexpected."_ Layla mumbled._

"We better get going…"_ Sapphire said urgently as the wind picked up._

_Dark clouds covered the sky and in just a matter of minutes, the water got choppy._

_And to the two sisters' sheer bad luck, they were far away from the shoreline!_

"Paddle, Layla! Paddle!"_ Sapphire yelled at her sister through the howling of the wind. _"I'm trying!"_ Layla shouted back as they struggled to reach the shore._

_Then a huge wave formed behind them!_

_Thinking fast, they stood on their boards._

_For a moment, it seemed to work and they were getting closer to shore faster._

_But a few minutes later, things took a turn for the worse._

_The wave began to get unstable and Layla's surfboard began to wobble!_

"Hang on, Layla! I'm coming!"_ Sapphire cried, trying to get near her sister._

"Sapphire, hurry! I can't hold on much longer!"_ Layla screamed as her board began to tilt._

_A loud roar stopped them short from panicking._

_The two sisters looked up and to their horror, saw the wave beginning to curl downward, ready to swamp them!_

"Saph! HELP!"_ Layla shrieked._

_Frantic, Sapphire stretched out her hand to reach her sister._

_Layla's terrified face was the last thing she saw before the wave slammed into her and she blacked out…'_

'_When Sapphire came to, she was back on shore surrounded by her family and paramedics._

"Urrff…"_ she groaned, coughing out the water in her lungs._

"She's coming round! She's alive!"_ the head paramedic yelled._

_Donnie helped his sister up and hugged her tightly. _"You okay, sis?"_ he asked worriedly. Sapphire smiled weakly and nodded._

"Oh honey…I'm so glad you're okay."_ Her mom said, hugging her next. _"We were so scared. When youstopped breathing, we thought we'd lost you too."_ Her dad added, kissing the top of her head._

_That's when Sapphire noticed the broken green surfboard lying alongside hers which was miraculously still in one piece._

_Remembering her dad's previous sentence, Sapphire frantically looked around._

"Mom…Dad…Wh-Where's Layla?"_ she stuttered._

_Her parents looked at each other uneasily._

"Where is she? Where's my sister?!"_ Sapphire shouted, getting scared._

_Donnie just hugged her, tears in his eyes._

"We never found her, Saph…I'm so sorry…"_ her dad said softly._

_Sapphire just stared at them, shocked speechless._

"I'm sure you did everything you could to save her, sweetie. But…There's nothing we can do…Layla'sgone."_ Her mom whispered._

_Sapphire felt like she had fallen into a bottomless dark pit._

_Her sister…_

_Her sweet, cute, innocent, lovely baby sister…was dead…'_

"It was the worst day of my life. I cried for days and I blamed myself for everything. It…It was just awful." Sapphire said, shaking her head. Layla gave her a hug.

"Well I'm here now. You're happy about that, right?" she asked. Sapphire smiled and nodded.

Jack couldn't help but feel a small twinge of sadness. His sister was a lot like Layla. She was sweet, cute, fun _and _gave the best hugs.

Then he realized something important.

"Hold on…If you drowned, Layla…Then how'd you end up here?" he asked slowly.

Layla looked at him and her sister.

"Well Manny saved me. When I was about to drown, he turned me into a nymph and brought me here. When I woke up, I learned about my transformation, what powers I had and what my job now was: to protect and care for the forests and animals here. Mother Nature and Father Time adopted me and have been caring for me ever since." She explained.

Then hesitating, she added, "And you know…Before you guys moved away from Florida…I used to stop by to see you guys every day." She admitted.

Sapphire was surprised.

"How come you never came up to say 'hi'? Mom, Dad and Donnie would've been thrilled to have you back, especially me. How come I never saw you?" she asked.

"I mostly watched you guys from afar. I was afraid you, Donnie or our parents would freak out if you saw me-with _wings"._ She said smiling a little.

"And…you can't really come back, can you?" Sapphire asked quietly.

Layla nodded.

"But I really missed you. I missed the times we had fun together." She said wistfully.

Sapphire smiled a little.

"Yeah…And remember what I always did to you and Donnie whenever I wanted you two to keep quiet about something?" she said mischievously, inching towards the little nymph.

Before Layla could realize what she was planning, Sapphire grabbed her and began tickling her sides!

"_I'll tickle you to death!_" the young girl crowed.

"Hahahahaha! Stop it, Saph! It tickles!" Layla shrieked, laughing like crazy.

"That's what it's _supposed _to do." Jack informed her, chuckling before _another _snowball hit him in the face!

"Hey!" he exclaimed, wiping the snow off.

Sapphire just giggled before throwing another one which Jack quickly deflected with his staff. Sapphire just laughed, released Layla and began to stand up. Then she slipped on a small patch of ice. She yelped and began losing her balance. Jack grabbed her hand, hoping to steady her.

Instead, Sapphire pulled him down with her.

"Ouch!" he grunted as they fell down.

After that, they just lay in the snow looking into each other's eyes, their noses touching.

Jack was lost in Sapphire's beautiful deep blue eyes and also slightly flustered that he was on top of her. He also mentally noted that Sapphire's breath smelled sweet, kind of like honey.

Sapphire on the other hand, couldn't help but gaze into the winter spirit's icy blue orbs. She liked how he was staring at her, not minding her blushing cheeks. He smelled nice too. Like pine and mint mixed together.

And she liked how cool he felt against her.

They were basically like that for a few minutes before Layla piped up, "Um…What are you guys still lying down for?"

Then, blushing madly the two of them stood up.

"Sorry about that…" Sapphire mumbled.

"It's ok…" Jack replied, still blushing.

Sapphire suddenly shivered as a gust of wind blew through the winter landscape.

"Um…I'm gonna go someplace warm. See you later." She excused herself and began to walk away. "See 'ya." Jack said as she left.

Then as soon as she was out of sight, Jack sighed in an almost dreamy tone, "Your sister sure is something, Layla."

Layla casually shrugged. "I know." She replied before it hit her.

"Wait a minute…Wait a minute…" she muttered. "What?" Jack asked, confused.

Layla grinned mischievously.

"You're in love with my sister, aren't you?!" she exclaimed.

Jack blushed again, his pale face turning red as a tomato.

"No, I'm not!" he said defensively.

"Yes, you are!" Layla countered.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"_No, I'm __**NOT!**__"_

"_Yes, you __**ARE!**__"_

That went on for a couple of minutes before Layla switched tactics.

"No, you're not." She said craftily.

"Yes, I…!" Jack began to say before he clapped his hands over his mouth but it was too late.

"_A-ha! I knew it! I knew it! You do like Sapphire! You do! Ha!_" Layla whooped in triumph.

"No fair! You used reverse psychology on me!" Jack whined.

"Works every time." The nymph grinned.

But her smile suddenly faded.

"What? You think I'm not the right one for her?" Jack said, a little anxious.

Layla's wings gave a slight flutter.

"You know…I haven't thanked you." She said quietly. "For what?" the winter spirit asked. "For making my sister laugh…I haven't heard Sapphire laugh like that in a while. The kind of laugh that…you know, that kind of laugh that makes you wanna laugh too 'cause she's so happy…" the little nymph said sincerely.

Jack was a little surprised but smiled.

"But! My sister is very, _very _hard to get. Only a handful of boys have been able to go out with her. And she wasn't even looking for a boyfriend during those few times." Layla said emphatically. "Does she have a boyfriend _now?_" Jack asked her.

Layla shook her head.

"Nah. She's never had one. Her first love has always been the water. She can't live without surfing, swimming _or_ snowboarding." She stated.

"Why add snowboarding?" the Guardian of Fun asked. "Snow's made of frozen water. And to her, it's like surfing on land." Layla replied.

"Oh." Jack said thoughtfully.

"But listen to me, Jack. If you _really _wanna win my sister's heart, you have _got _to learn how to _swim._ That is the _number one _requirement all boys have to fulfill if they want to date my sister." Layla said seriously. Jack shrugged.

"Okay. Shouldn't be too hard. We can try at the Pond back at Burgess." He suggested. "Nah. Too easy. And don't you have a _bad_ history with ponds?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Remembering how he drowned, Jack shuddered a little. "Oh yeah…Forgot about that. What about a lake?"

Layla shook her head again.

"Swimming pool?" Jack tried again.

"Baby level. Way too easy." She replied.

"Well what do _you _suggest? The _ocean?_" Jack said in an almost exasperated tone.

Layla perked up.

"The ocean, yes! No boundaries, no limits, lots of challenges-it's the perfect place to learn how to swim." She said smiling.

But just as Jack was about to get his hopes up, he remembered something.

"Wait…I have to help Sapphire with the Scepter." He said glumly. "Then you're gonna have to ask _her _for lessons." Layla told him.

"Okay…Just out of curiosity, what _kind_ of challengesam I gonna encounter out in the ocean?" Jack said, a bit apprehensive.

"Nothing really. Just rip tides that threaten to pull you away from shore, waves that swamp you over and over again, poisonous sea urchins, jellyfish, fire coral and there's the occasional shark attack. But I'm sure you can handle all that. Good luck." Layla said brightly, flying off.

Jack stood there in the Seasonal Gardens' winter wonderland for a couple of minutes, thinking about what Layla said.

"Oh man…I am so _dead…_" he moaned.

With all those challenges combined with his zero ability in swimming, if he had to compete with other guys for Sapphire, he wouldn't stand a chance!

Looking up at the moon, Jack thought about it hard.

Suddenly he heard Manny's voice saying, "_Are you willing to do anything for her?_"

Jack thought about Sapphire as he saw a small smile appear on the Man in the Moon's face.

"…_Yes._" The winter spirit said with full certainty.

Meanwhile, Sapphire walked around the Palace, looking for her room. Choosing a random door, she opened it only to find Tooth and Baby Tooth in the room.

"Oh! Sorry, Tooth. I…thought this was my room." She apologized.

Tooth smiled. "Your room's down the hall on the left hall, third door to the right." She said before Sapphire just sighed all of a sudden.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked.

Sapphire sighed again.

Baby Tooth flew over to the young girl.

"Do you have a problem?" Tooth asked this time.

"No…" Sapphire said wistfully.

"Do you have a toothache?" Tooth asked again.

"No…" Sapphire said again.

"Do you like someone?" Tooth asked, cheekily this time.

"No…wait, _what?_" Sapphire said the first part absentmindedly but said the last part of her answer in surprise.

Tooth heard it and smiled mischievously.

"Oh so you do like someone! What's his name? What's he like? Is it someone I know? Is it someone you know? Does he have great teeth?" she said excitedly.

Panicking slightly, Sapphire quickly shook her head.

"Um…I gotta go. Mother Nature's calling me…" she said, using the lamest excuse she could think of.

But Baby Tooth chirped and shook her head. She was determined to get something out of her.

Quickly, she darted into Sapphire's right coat sleeve and began fluttering around her clothes!

"Hey?! What the?! Baby Tooth, no! No, no, no, no, no! Quit it!" Sapphire yelped while trying not to laugh as she wiggled around as Tooth watched, a confused look on her face.

"What are you doing? Dancing?" she asked, puzzled.

Sapphire was laughing now.

Before she could stop herself, she fell on the floor laughing.

"Okay! It's Jack! _I'm in love with Jack!_" she gasped out.

Baby Tooth then darted out of Sapphire's sleeve and looked at her, surprised.

Tooth was surprised as well.

"Jack? As in Jack Frost? You really like him?" she asked curiously before adding, "Hmmm…Did you ever see his teeth? I wonder if he uses a special toothpaste…"

Sapphire stood up and cocked her head quizzically.

"Why are you so addicted to teeth? It's kinda creepy…" she said uncomfortably.

Tooth smiled. "Well I _am _the Tooth Fairy. So you're wondering on how you can get him to notice you? Well boys are like wisdom teeth. They're a pain to take out but the later results are worth it." She said brightly.

Sapphire took a step back. "You're using teeth references again." She reminded her.

Tooth laughed a little.

"Sorry. Just remember this," she said flying over to the young girl and cupping her cheeks in both hands.

"You gotta tell him upfront that you like him." She told her gently before letting go of her cheeks and gave her a thumbs-up. "Now go get those molars!"

Baby Tooth sighed and face palmed. She knew that was Tooth code for '_go get him!_' but she had a feeling Sapphire didn't quite get it.

Sapphire gave Tooth a somewhat forced smile to make her think she got the message before she went out the door.

"Okaaayy…Thanks for the advice…I think." She muttered to herself.

Remembering Tooth's instructions, she went down the next hall she saw on the left and opened the third door on the right. Her room for the night was pretty nice. It had pale blue walls and nice sea décor like pictures of sea animals and seashells on the walls with a plush bed in the middle of the room. A window offered her a clear view of the night sky.

Sapphire quietly opened the window and leaned on the ledge, the moon shining down on her. Remembering something Jack taught her a while ago, she tilted her head to the right and scrunched up her eyebrows to see the face of the Man in the Moon.

Then she said, "You work in mysterious ways, Manny…First, you turn me into a Guardian and next, I fall in love with one of them…"

Sapphire waited for Manny to respond. But the moon just glowed brightly and didn't say a word.

Shrugging, Sapphire just yawned and changed into a nightgown she found on her bed then crawled under the covers. Just as she was about to nod off, Sapphire heard a voice saying, '_Believe in yourself…_'

"Easy for you to say…" she said, already half asleep.

She never had that much self-confidence. And the day Layla disappeared had crushed all the confidence in herself right out of her.

Tired from the entire day's events, Sapphire soon fell asleep. Little did she know, Pitch was watching her from the shadows.

The Boogeyman smiled wickedly, before leaving the Palace with an evil plan forming in his mind…

**Kind of a cliffhanger at the end, huh? Anyways please read and review. Reviews make me happy **

**GuardianDragon98 signing out! Until the next chapter ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Big news guys After I post the tenth chapter of this story, I'm posting the first chapter of my HTTYD fanfic, The Fiersome Chronicles I hope you'll all enjoy it just as much as you enjoy this!  
Right now this is the ninth chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians. DreamWorks owns all rights.**

**Chapter 9**

The following morning, the Guardians were ready for their quest to begin. As they prepared to leave, Mother Nature gave Sapphire some clues on the whereabouts of the rest of the Scepter's gems.

"Each gem represents your new friends. So it's only sensible to search in places close to them-like where they live for instance." She advised.

"How will I know when we're close?" Sapphire asked. "In water you will find the key, my dear. In water you will find the key." Father Time told her, gently touching the sapphire on her necklace.

Layla looked up at her sister. "It's a good thing I gave that to you before the accident. Maybe it can help us." She piped up. Sapphire smiled.

"I sure hope so, sis. Sure hope so." She murmured as they bade Mother Nature, Father Time and Millennium good-bye and climbed onto Marina.

"Let's go!" North boomed as he took the sleigh up into the air and the portal to the normal world opened up.

"Time to fly!" Sapphire cheered as they joined them into the portal.

When they arrived back at the Pond, Sapphire explained to the Guardians the clues Mother Nature and Father Time had told her.

"So I was thinking that maybe we should visit the Warren, Tooth Palace and Santoff Claussen. Three of the gems are probably hidden there. But they have to be hidden somewhere near the water…Where do we start?" she said, thinking.

Then Tooth piped up, "There's a lagoon at my palace." Sapphire perked up. "Then that's where we'll start." North declared.

Back up into the sky they went and North tossed a snow globe into the air, proclaiming, "Tooth Palace!" A giant portal opened up in the sky and the sleigh along with Marina went in.

The beautiful Tooth Palace was the first thing to greet them followed by the Mini Fairies.

Sapphire giggled as some of them fangirled over Jack, Baby Tooth trying to keep them together. They came to a landing a short distance away from the lagoon.

Climbing off their transportations, they proceeded to the lagoon with Tooth leading the way. Layla had taken her snack pack and was munching away at a piece of biscotti.

"So every kid loses 20 baby teeth?" she asked Tooth. Nodding, Tooth hovered up higher into the air.

"Then that means if there are about four million and one kids…times 20…that would be…eight billion and twenty teeth?" Layla said, astonished. "Well that's close to the average number of teeth I collect every year." Tooth said, smiling.

"Cool…" Layla said, biting into another piece of biscotti.

Suddenly she shrieked, "_Owww!_"

Sapphire immediately rushed to her side.

"Are you ok? Something wrong with your mouth?" she asked worriedly.

Layla carefully spat something out of her mouth.

"Hey…Cool! I think I just lost my last baby tooth!" she exclaimed excitedly. Tooth immediately flew over to her and examined it.

"What a beautiful molar! And you're right, I think you just lost your last one." She grinned. Layla was all puffed up with excitement.

"They grow up so fast." Sapphire remarked. "When all kids lose their baby teeth, time does seem to fly." Bunny agreed with her before _bap! _A snowball hit him right on top of his head!

"Hey!" the Guardian of Hope looked up to find Jack laughing along with Sandy.

"Frostbite!" he glared at the winter Guardian. "Sorry! Sandy made me do it!" Jack laughed. Sandy silently giggled with him.

"Jack really likes to torture you, doesn't he?" Sapphire giggled.

Shaking the snow off his head, Bunny sighed. "You don't know the half of it. He even calls me a kangaroo." He grumbled.

The young girl looked at him from head to toe, sizing him up.

"Boomerangs, Australian accent, six footer…Yeah I can definitely see why he calls you the Easter Kangaroo." She marveled.

Bunny rolled his eyes. "You're definitely Jack's twin." He remarked as Sapphire turned around. Hearing that, she looked at Bunny.

"What's that supposed to mean? I beat you in a fight once and I can beat you again." She warned him.

Remembering the smackdown yesterday, Bunny shuddered. "Never mind." He said hastily.

Pretty soon, they arrived at the lagoon. Layla looked at the mural in wonder.

"We collect the teeth because we use it to help kids like you. They contain the most precious memories of childhood. So if you need help remembering what's really important, the Tooth Palace is where you should go." Tooth told her. The little girl smiled. "Can I see my baby teeth?"

"Of course. Come on." Tooth smiled at her.

Excited, Layla followed her to the Palace leaving the others at the lagoon.

"Tooth's a really great memory keeper." Sapphire remarked. "Well that _is _her center-keeping every child's memories safe." Jack said nonchalantly.

"Center?" Sapphire was confused.

Sandy formed a sand picture of the Guardians symbol and a hand pointing to her.

"You mean _every _Guardian has to have a center?" Sapphire guessed. Sandy nodded at her.

"You need to find your center first _before _you become a Guardian." North told her. Sapphire looked at the Russian skeptically.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked. North smiled. "That's for you to know and you to find out." He said mysteriously. Sapphire just blinked at the others, confused.

"No worries there, mate. You'll figure it out on your own eventually." Bunny laughed.

Nodding, Sapphire peered into the lagoon. The gem had to be down there.

"Alright, I'm going down." She said. "Be careful." Jack reminded her gently.

The young girl smiled at him before she took a deep breath and dove in.

Underwater, she had maximum visibility thanks to the specks of light floating around her. Sapphire then saw a green diamond shaped gem lodged in a tooth shaped statue. Fish swimming around her cleared a path as she swam to it. Carefully, Sapphire prodded the gem out of its place and slipped it into her pocket. Her charm glowed, meaning that the gem was the real deal.

Smiling, Sapphire turned around in order to start swimming back up to the surface. But suddenly, the fish screamed and darted away.

Confused, Sapphire looked around cautiously.

What she saw was really shocking.

Huge manta rays and sharks made out of black sand were chasing the fish!

'_Aquatic Nightmares?!_' she thought, shocked.

Bravely, she unsheathed her dagger and torpedo charged at the Nightmares, slicing them with her dagger and using underwater blasts until none remained.

"Is everyone ok?" she called out to the fish. All of them replied yes.

"Good. I gotta warn the others." She said to herself, quickly swimming back up.

What she didn't expect to see once she reached the surface were the Guardians battling with _more _Nightmares!

"You've gotta be kidding me…" she muttered, quickly joining the fight.

"What took you so long?" Bunny hollered to her as he tossed an egg bomb. "I was fighting these things underwater too! Only they didn't look like horses, more like manta rays and sharks!" Sapphire replied, blasting one Nightmare with water.

"How did Pitch create aquatic nightmares in the first place?" North wondered aloud as he fought a couple of Nightmares off with his swords.

Tooth and Layla came along and joined the fight. "What's this you're saying about aquatic Nightmares?" Layla asked her sister as she snared some Nightmares with her plant magic.

"I guess Pitch is trying something new. Land and water based attacks." Jack remarked as he froze one Nightmare after the other with his staff.

"You might as well count aerial attacks as well! Look out!" Tooth shouted to the Guardians as more Nightmares came down from the sky.

Suddenly a huge white swan swooped down from nowhere and sliced the advancing fleet with its wings! "Good timing, Marina!" Sapphire called out before letting her water whips loose.

After a couple more attacks, the Nightmares were gone.

Sandy wiped his brow and gave everyone the thumbs up sign, meaning all clear.

"Glad _that's _over." Layla breathed out in relief, a little tired.

Sapphire pulled the gem out of her pocket. Marina came down and gave her the Scepter.

A diamond shaped notch appeared in the bottom left corner.

Carefully, Sapphire placed the green gem inside it. The gem glowed brightly along with the other ones.

"Only three more to go." She said before a chilling laugh echoed out into the lagoon.

"And only three days left, my dear." Pitch suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling them all.

"Your plan's not gonna work, Pitch! We'll find all the gems and the Pedestal of Beginnings before the lunar eclipse happens!" Layla shouted defiantly.

The Boogeyman glared at the little nymph and formed a swan out of nightmare sand.

Noticing Sandy's shocked face, he chuckled. "I thought I'd go for a little variety on my Nightmares."

Marina was furious.

As the black swan prepared to attack Layla, the white swan charged at it. "Back, back I say! You are a disgrace to all swankind!" she shouted, pecking at the thing with her beak.

Pitch called his creation off.

"I'm surprised our new Guardian-in-training saved your life. I guess she isn't so pathetic after all." He said with disgust.

Jack pointed his staff at him in warning while Sapphire gripped her dagger tightly.

"We ain't gonna let you win, Pitch." Bunny warned him.

"Oh really? With the lunar eclipse, the Man in the Moon will have no power to help the children. And if he can't help them, who's going to stop me from spreading fear and darkness all over the world?" Pitch said sarcastically.

"We will!" Tooth said, glaring at him. "And if you dare harm one child, we will vanquish you once and for all." North warned him, raising his swords.

Pitch smiled darkly. "We'll see about that." He said before unleashing a huge cloud of nightmare sand.

Sandy quickly created a dream sand shield to protect himself and the others. When the black sand cleared, the Boogeyman was gone.

"Nuts! He's gone!" Sapphire exclaimed, feeling steamed. Suddenly Marina yelped, "Hot water! Hot water!"

Everyone turned around to see the water in the lagoon boiling.

The Guardians looked at Sapphire.

"Whoops…Sorry…" she mumbled, calming down.

Suddenly Baby Tooth flew in chirping frantically.

"What is it, Baby Tooth?" Jack asked her, seeing how freaked out the little fairy was. Baby Tooth just flew back to the Palace in a panic. Worried, Tooth and the other Guardians followed her.

When they arrived at the beautiful castle, they were shocked to see thousands of Mini Fairies on the floor, shaking.

Baby Tooth worriedly chirped to Tooth what had happened. The Guardian of Memories was horrified.

"That blast of nightmare sand reached the Palace…Almost half of them all were put to sleep-nightmare induced sleep. Most of them managed to take cover…But all of the others…" she whispered before tears slid out of her eyes. Bunny gently gave her a comforting hug.

Baby Tooth perched on Jack's shoulder and chirped sadly.

"We'll help your friends, Baby Tooth. I promise." He reassured her.

Sandy was busy tending to some of the nightmare stricken Mini Fairies. Gently sprinkling dream sand on them, he turned their nightmares into sweet dreams. They instantly calmed down into peaceful sleep. He reported to North the news and his plan. With a little help from Sapphire (_who seemed to understand his_ _sand language better than anyone_) North was able to translate his friend's sand symbols.

"Okay…Sandy says that the fairies will wake up on their own if we change their nightmares into sweet dreams." After the Guardian of Wonder had told the Guardians about the plan, Sandy conjured up a few small bags filled with sparkly dream sand.

Sapphire translated the rest of the little golden man's symbols.

"He says he'll need help. All we have to do is sprinkle dream sand on each fairy and they'll be fine." Sandy nodded in agreement.

Bunny looked around. The floor was covered with Mini Fairies having nightmares.

"This could take a while. There are _dozens _of them!" he exclaimed. Sandy sent him a stern look.

"Well we can't just leave them like this." Layla pointed out, worried for the Mini Fairies. "Even if it means sacrificing time to look for the gems, we need to help." Sapphire said in agreement.

Bunny nodded and with that, the Guardians got to work.

Carefully, they sprinkled a little dream sand on each Mini Fairy, turning their nightmares to sweet dreams.

Pretty soon it was nighttime but all the afflicted Mini Fairies were now up and about, okay much to Tooth's relief.

"Thank you so much guys! I'm just so glad they're all alright." Tooth said gratefully.

Tired as they all were, the Guardians smiled.

Then Layla spotted something that caught her interest.

"Is that…a piano?" she said in awe, running up to a pillar that looked like a giant, colorful keyed instrument.

"Yeah. We don't really have the time to play it, though." Tooth said, smiling a bit as the little girl plunked out a few notes.

Sapphire joined her.

"Hey Saph, remember that piece mom always played for us during bedtime when we were little?" she asked curiously. Sapphire nodded, "Yeah…She taught me how to play it for you and later, Donnie when he was born." She said wistfully.

"You still remember how to play it?" Layla asked, looking up at her.

Smiling, Sapphire took a seat next to her sister on the bench she was sitting on.

"Let's see." She said, positioning her fingers on the piano's colorful keys…and began to play.

Beautifully…

After a few notes she placed Layla's left hand next to her right and soon, the two sisters were playing in perfect harmony.

The Guardians and Mini Fairies watched, amazed.

When they finished, the two of them glanced at their little audience. The Guardians politely clapped and the Mini Fairies twittered excitedly amongst themselves.

Sapphire glanced at Jack who was a couple of inches away from them. He smiled at her, she smiled at him.

Sandy then promptly yawned, signaling everyone that it was time for bed. While Tooth led the others to their rooms, Sandy went over to Sapphire smiling and formed some sand images over his head.

Sapphire figured he was trying to tell something.

"What are you saying?" she asked curiously.

Sandy formed a bunch of sand images, mostly snowflakes.

"Is it about Jack?" Sapphire guessed.

Sandy nodded and formed a few more images.

Sapphire looked confused and began guessing again.

"He…fell on his backside?" first guess.

Sandy shook his head.

Her guess was kind of far from what he was trying to tell her.

Sapphire tried again. "He…crashed into a tree?"

Again, Sandy shook his head.

Crashing into a tree? That was waaayyy far from the correct answer.

Unbeknownst to them, Jack was eavesdropping on their conversation. Then Sapphire let out her last guess.

"He…wants to tell me something?"

Sandy was close to giving up when he heard her say that.

Excitedly, he nodded.

"What? What does he wanna say?" Sapphire asked, getting excited as well.

Before Sandy could form one sand image, a hooked staff came out from behind a column near the two and grabbed him.

"Sandy, I think she's heard enough!" Jack hissed at him.

Sandy just rolled his eyes but kept quiet.

Satisfied, Jack flew off to catch up with the others.

Making sure the Guardian of Fun was out of sight and earshot, Sandy turned to an expectant Sapphire and formed a large heart made out of dream sand over his head.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow.

"He…wants to give me a Valentine?" she asked wondering why now since Valentine's Day was still pretty far off.

"I really don't get this charades thing." She said confused. Sandy just smacked his forehead. The girl was absolutely clueless so he just left.

"Wait, you mean we weren't playing charades?" Sapphire called out but Sandy had already left.

Confused, Sapphire decided to just go to bed too.

Jack was absolutely annoyed.

First, Sandy tried to drop hints and now, he was being 'interrogated' by the rest of the Guardians.

"Come on Jack, admit it! You like her!" Bunny taunted him. "For the nth time, I _don't!_" the winter spirit snapped.

"Denial's the giveaway symptom! Jack, you _are _in love!" Tooth said giddily. "Tooth, you're not my mom!" Jack whined.

"First comes love…Second comes…" North was chanting along with Baby Tooth and Marina. "North, you're not my dad either!" Jack huffed.

Seriously, why did they have to meddle around with his personal life? _He _didn't meddle around with _theirs_!

"Guys, I'm just really exhausted now. Can I at least have some peace for one night?" he requested.

Eventually, they stopped harassing him.

"Okay…" Tooth shrugged.

"If you insist…" North sighed.

"Whatever floats your boat…lover boy." Bunny snickered, which resulted in a snowball to the face before Jack just went to his room to sleep.

**Last part was such a laugh for me to write :D Stay tuned for Chapter Ten and my new HTTYD fic, The Fiersome Chronicles! Later ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another update! And this one has thrills and chills written all over it so hang on tight!**

**Once again, I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 10**

To make up for lost time, the Guardians decided to get up at the crack of dawn.

"We can head to the Warren. Santoff Claussen will be our next step." Sapphire suggested.

Bunny was still a little bit sleepy but he instantly perked up when he heard this.

"I was hoping you'd say that mate. Straight on to the tunnel!" he shouted, stomping his foot on the floor.

Before any of the Guardians could say something, a huge hole opened up in the ground! While North hollered as they fell down, the others were having a blast sliding down the tunnel. Finally they arrived at the entrance of the Warren.

"That was like a waterslide! Way cool!" Layla exclaimed, thrilled to no end. "Only without the water." Her sister laughed.

"This is why I prefer the sleigh." North groaned as he got up with Sandy's help. "Oh come on, North. You enjoyed the first slide down the tunnels, remember?" Tooth said teasingly.

"Welcome back to the Warren." Bunny said as Sentinel Eggs greeted them.

Then he looked at Sapphire, Layla and Marina.

"Oh, and a grand welcome to you three." He added, smiling.

"Wow…" "Ahh…" "Whoa…"

Sapphire, Layla and Marina breathed in amazement as they saw millions of white eggs got colored and dyed in the many pools, springs, streams and lakes of colorful paint and powder.

"You run a pretty crack operation here, Bunny." Sapphire complimented. "Thanks mate. But the really hard part of the job is hiding them." The rabbit grinned.

"What's so hard about that?" Marina confused. "Well for one thing, I sometimes have to risk slipping and skidding on patches of ice _and _freezing my tail off." Bunny stated, shooting Jack a look.

"Really? You're still mad about 1968?" the winter Guardian said, rolling his eyes. "Just a smidge." The rabbit replied, putting his thumb and one finger a few millimeters apart.

A little surprised at how mellow Bunny was now, Jack looked at him then Layla confused.

"Hey, people forgive and forget. They forgive each other, they forgive themselves. Everyone can do that." The little girl said brightly.

Sapphire had been eavesdropping on them and stopped in her tracks. Her sister's words seemed to have struck a chord in her heart.

Forgiving yourself? Was that even possible?

When the accident had happened, she blamed herself for everything. Even when her family, friends and everyone else told her not to, Sapphire still believed that it was all her fault.

After taking that little trip down memory lane, Sapphire wondered about Layla's words. She was thinking so hard she didn't notice a Sentinel Egg running straight towards her as it herded some unpainted eggs.

"Whoa! Watch out!" Jack quickly hooked her by the waist with his staff and pulled her out of the giant stone egg. Sapphire was caught off guard and nearly lost her balance if Jack hadn't wrapped an arm around her waist as he grabbed her.

"You were about to get trampled." Jack chuckled before noticing that Sapphire was blushing _and _looking at him funny.

Then the winter spirit realized that he still had one arm wrapped around the young lady.

Blushing, Jack let Sapphire go muttering a quick, "Sorry…" before he retreated back to the other Guardians.

Sapphire blinked and went on her way.

But not before she looked behind and gave a flirtatious wink to Jack, who was trying to hide behind North's massive frame.

Jack caught her eye and just turned even redder as he watched her walk away.

"Admit it, mate. You've gone head over heels for her." Bunny laughed. "Shut it." Jack growled at him.

But the rabbit just smiled mischievously.

"Maybe I should be your wingman. You know, let her know you're interested." Once again, Jack glared at his taunting friend. "You try that, it'll be 1968 all over again for you." He warned him.

Bunny just laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Expect an army of Sentinel Eggs waiting for you." He shot back.

"Not listening…Not listening, lalalalala…" Jack just chanted, putting his hands over his ears and hastened to catch up with Sapphire.

"I've never seen Jack like this. Nervous, jittery, shy…klutzy." Tooth decided to add that last bit when she and Baby Tooth saw the boy accidentally bump into Sapphire and nearly fall over as he stammered an apology.

"Trust me, Tooth. That's how all boys behave like when they like someone." Layla chuckled.

Sandy began to clap his hands as the others chanted, "Jack and Sapphire, sitting in a tree! K.I.S.S.I.N.G!"

Jack and Sapphire heard everything.

They looked at each other and immediately blushed.

"Sorry about those guys…" Jack mumbled apologetically. "It's okay. _I'm _sorry about my sister. She just likes to push my buttons sometimes." She said quietly.

Suddenly her sapphire charm glowed and began to shake, making her necklace vibrate on her neck.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Jack asked in surprise. Sapphire shook her head. "No…This is new." She said uneasily.

Then…_zoom!_

Like a missle, Sapphire was suddenly pulled by her necklace farther into the Warren!

"_Whooaa! Heellpp!_" she shrieked as she zipped away.

Jack was about to fly after her when he heard the other Guardians still chanting.

"Uh, guys! A little help!" he yelled, tapping his staff to get their attention. The other Guardians stopped chanting and looked at him.

"What's up?" Marina asked confused.

Then they all heard Sapphire's yelps as she zipped around faster and faster around the Warren.

"_That._" The winter Guardian said, annoyed before he flew after Sapphire followed by the others.

Sapphire flailed around wildly as she was whisked around the Warren at top speed. Her charm was glowing really bright and forced her into shutting her eyes.

"Yikes! Please stop!" she yelped as she flew past Sentinel Eggs, hordes of white and painted eggs who ducked for cover and colorful paints, thankfully being spared from getting messy.

Soon she came to a green clearing and her charm pointed directly at the ground and took her down with it.

"_Oww…_" she moaned as she took off her necklace.

The charm was still glowing and pointed at the ground.

Finally the Guardians caught up with her.

"You alright, sis?" Layla asked. Sapphire nodded and focused on the spot her charm was pointing at.

"Does that glowing mean a gem's down there?" North asked. "Well since my necklace dragged me here, I'd say yes." Sapphire said before looking at Bunny.

"I've got an idea. Bunny, thump your foot here." She said, pointing at the spot her charm was pointing at. "But there's no water here." Bunny said, puzzled.

Didn't they already receive the hint that the gems were hidden near water? There wasn't a drop of the stuff in this clearing!

"He's right. We have to look in places with water. There's not a single drop here." Tooth agreed with the Guardian of Hope.

Jack quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. Sapphire tapped her foot on the solid earth.

"My parents always discover some surprises during their marine biology excursions. One thing I've learned from them is that everything is not always what it seems. The least suspecting places usually always have secrets hidden. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but the gem's _got _to be here. I can feel it." She said confidently.

"In your belly?" North smiled. "Yeah, you can say that." Sapphire laughed. "Alright then. Let's see where my tunnel leads." Bunny thumped his foot at the spot Sapphire had pointed to.

When the hole opened up and the Guardians peered down the hole, they were greeted by an outstanding sight.

A huge underground lake was hidden right underneath the Warren!

"Crikey…" Bunny said, amazed.

"Wowzers…" Marina said in agreement.

Then North asked, "Now how are we going to get down there?"

That started an argument between Sapphire and Bunny.

"What're we waiting for? Let's jump!" Sapphire said excitedly. A little worried the girl could get hurt, Bunny said cautiously. "Maybe we should think this through."

Sapphire rolled her eyes at this. "We don't need to think it through! We can just dive in!" she countered. "You're as stubborn as a pack of mules." Bunny sighed. "Hey! Offensive much!" Sapphire said, miffed.

Then Sandy stepped forward and held up a long, thick vine.

"Well lowering ourselves down's a lot safer than just recklessly jumping in and better than just standing around here doing nothing." Jack quipped, realizing the Sandman's plan.

Sapphire and Bunny looked at each other.

"Fair enough." The girl said after a few seconds.

"Works for me." The rabbit agreed.

Sandy (_with a sly smile_) then handed Jack the vine. The Guardian of Fun shot a quick acid look at the Guardian of Dreams before tying the vine around Sapphire's waist, all the while blushing slightly and trying real hard not to make eye contact with the young girl.

Luckily for him, Sapphire was too busy listening to North's instructions.

"Pull on vine once if you have the gem. If there's danger, pull twice." The Russian told her.

"Got it."Sapphire nodded before she went to the edge of the tunnel's hole.

"Here goes…" Tooth mumbled as they carefully lowered the girl down.

Sapphire placed one hand on the hilt of her dagger as a precaution. For a few moments, everything was okay.

Until Sapphire heard a loud whinny from above followed by the sounds of battle.

"What's going on up there?!" she yelled. Bunny looked down at her, holding onto the vine with one hand.

That's when Sapphire saw a Nightmare about to charge at him before he tossed a boomerang at it.

Knowing he can't possibly keep holding onto the vine and protect himself at the same time, Sapphire unsheathed her dagger and held it to the vine.

"What're you doing?!" Bunny shouted at her. "I'll be fine, Kangaroo! You go help the others!"

Before Bunny could stop her (_and make any comments on her 'kangaroo' remark_), Sapphire slashed the vine and plunged into the water!

Jack glanced at Bunny and noticed the shocked look on his face.

"She can breathe underwater, Bunny. She'll be fine." The winter spirit said calmly. Bunny looked at him and relaxed a little.

"For the record, Frostbite…She's as stubborn as you." The rabbit remarked before he fully joined the fight.

The lake was enormous indeed. Luckily for Sapphire, the fish gave her directions to the Underwater Egg Grotto.

"Wow…" Sapphire breathed as she saw the Grotto come into view.

Ancient egg shaped boulders were nestled at the lake's bottom amongst colorful branches of coral. A large stone egg stood in the very center of the Grotto.

'_We've always felt some strange power from that one. Maybe it has what you're looking for._' The fish told her.

Sapphire examined the giant egg, noticing the grooves at the top and bottom with various egg shaped jewels.

Then she remembered the various patterns on Easter eggs.

'_Maybe I need to arrange them in a pattern…But what pattern should I use?' _she thought.

She thought about Bunny, trying to find a clue.

Then she remembered how his ears seemed to look a bit triangular.

Sapphire got to work, sliding the jewels in a triangular zigzag pattern on the top and bottom. As soon as she worked the last jewel into place, her charm began to glow again. A small notch opened in the egg's center. Swimming over to it, she saw a gray triangle shaped gem resting in it. Quickly, Sapphire slipped it into her pocket.

As she began to swim upwards, a cloud of black sand suddenly enveloped her. Pitch's voice rang in Sapphire's ears as she avoided touching the nightmare sand.

'_I can feel the fear in you…Your greatest fear is losing the ones you love. And you've already seen that happen once. Hmmm…I wonder who you will lose this time…_'

Sapphire brandished her dagger in a fury at the black sand. "Don't even dare try to hurt my family or friends! I won't let you!" she yelled as the nightmare sand gradually vanished.

She no longer heard Pitch's voice but his words lingered in her brain, enraging and scaring her at the same time.

But she had no time to dwell on it now!

Sapphire burst out of the water and looked up at the opening. She didn't hear a single sound.

"Guys, are you okay?!" she yelled. A few seconds passed before Bunny's head peered down at her. "We're okay! The Nightmares are gone!" he informed her.

Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief as Jack flew down to lift her out of the water.

"You got it?" he asked her. Sapphire pulled the gem out of her pocket. "I got it." She smiled as they flew up.

Back up in the Warren, she placed the gem in the Scepter at the bottom right corner.

"Alright! Only two gems left!" Marina said excitedly.

"Next stop-Santoff Claussen." Layla grinned.

North took out another snow globe and opened a portal back to the Tooth Palace to get the sleigh. "_Klassno!_" he laughed as they took off into the sky.

Sapphire was enjoying the ride when Bunny looked at her.

"What?" she asked, seeing the serious look on the rabbit's face despite the fact that he was turning green. "What you did back there was super dangerous, young lady. Don't even think of doing it again." Bunny told her off while trying not to throw up on the ride.

"Well if you kept holding onto the vine, you wouldn't have been able to protect yourself." Sapphire countered. "Even so, Sapphire you have to stick close to us no matter what and be careful. Since you're the new Guardian, Pitch has been targeting you. We just don't want you getting hurt." Tooth said concerned.

The young girl just stayed silent.

She just kept thinking back to what the Boogeyman had told her. The thought of Pitch knowing about her greatest fear made her worry. She couldn't bear to see any of her loved ones hurt-it scared her.

Jack noticed the dark look in her eyes and got worried. As they neared the North Pole, he scooted over to Sapphire.

"You okay?" he asked gently. Sapphire looked at him. "Yeah…" she said quietly.

Jack then gave her hand a small squeeze.

The winter spirit suddenly realized what he just did and mentally kicked himself in the gut.

'_WHY did I do that?!_' he thought, embarrassed completely.

Then to his surprise, Sapphire kept her hand in his and smiled.

Suddenly the wind picked up.

"What's going on?" Marina said uneasily.

That's when Nightmares swooped down from the sky!

"_Shostakovich!" _North yelled. The Guardians quickly readied their weapons and got into position.

Bunny began tossing egg bombs and his boomerangs at any Nightmare that came too close while Tooth and Marina zipped in and out, slicing the Nightmares with their wings. Sandy and Layla were a pretty good team, using sand whips and plant vines to fend them off. North slashed whatever Nightmare he could reach with his swords. Sapphire and Jack stayed close to each other. Unleashing water blasts and whips, Sapphire took out Nightmares left and right while Jack blasted them with snow and ice.

"We make a pretty good team." Jack told her, smiling. Sapphire grinned. "I guess so." She agreed before noticing someone riding a dark cloud a few feet above them all.

Pitch.

Just seeing the amused look on his face as he watched the Guardians battle it out with his Nightmares made Sapphire's blood and the ocean boil.

"Marina!" she shouted to her swan comrade. Marina flew over to her and before anyone could stop her, Sapphire hopped on.

"Sapphire…What're you going to do?" Jack looked at the young girl uneasily. "I'm going after the Boogeyman, Jack. I have to fight him on my own." Sapphire said flatly.

And before the others could react, Sapphire yanked on Marina's reins and flew up towards Pitch.

"Well, well. Look who came up to play." Pitch said with an evil smile on his face.

**Cliffhanger! And keep an eye out for my new story, The Fiersome Chronicles coming soon after I post this! Later dear reader ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Back for more! Here's where things get really exciting. Also a big, big Thank You to all who have favorite and followed my story. And a shout out to some of my new reviewers namely,**

**Liliana Dragonshard**

**Icy**

**MrsEdwardElric33**

**Goodorevilangel-yourchoice**

**Thank you for such great reviews **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG (No matter how much I wish I did…) **

**Chapter 11**

Sapphire glared at Pitch and unleashed a water blast at Pitch. But the dark man used a wave of nightmare sand to deflect it. Growling, Sapphire unsheathed her dagger.

"Ah…A swordfight. Perfect." Pitch taunted her and a black sand axe appeared in his hand. Suddenly Nightmares surrounded Sapphire and Marina. "Ack! We're surrounded!" the white swan exclaimed.

Sapphire was undaunted by this. Truth be told, she had an insane idea.

"Toss me up!" she yelled. "What?! Saph, are you out of your mind?!" Marina squawked at her in shock. "_Now!_" Sapphire ordered.

The swan obeyed, although she looked rather reluctant and worried for the girl's safety. She let Sapphire climb up onto her neck and flung her neck upward, launching her into the air. Using water to propel herself up, Sapphire rocketed up to face Pitch.

"Seems like our little chat earlier has rattled you a bit!" Pitch laughed as his axe met with Sapphire's dagger. "You think I'll let you hurt my family?! Not a chance!" Sapphire shouted at him. "Oh really? Do you want to bet on that?" Pitch sneered as he tried to land a hit. Good thing Sapphire remembered North's sword fighting lessons and parried his blow.

"Rather not. But I _do _want to beat the fear dust right out of you!" Sapphire fired back at him, unleashing a water blast. Stunned, Pitch reeled backward. Apparently he had underestimated the young water spirit.

Then an idea popped into his head.

He conjured up a swirl of nightmare sand to cover him. Sapphire squinted to make sure her eyes were still locked on Pitch. When the sand began to clear, she heard a voice that made her heart stop. "Saph! Help me!"

It was Donnie…

"D-Donnie…?" Layla squeaked as she looked up to where her big sister was fighting Pitch and froze upon seeing her baby brother flailing in Pitch's grasp.

Donnie yelped as Pitch squeezed his arm (where he was holding the boy) tightly. Jack looked up from combat at the little five year old and nearly freaked out. How in the name of Manny did Pitch get him?! That's when Jack noticed something strange. Donnie's eyes were _black _instead of blue like he remembered seeing back at the Ledge.

'_That's not Donnie…It's a decoy!_' Jack's brain screeched at him.

"Sapphire, wait!" the winter spirit shouted, fearing that the girl was gonna lose it and began to fly up to her. But more Nightmares came and blocked his path. Marina and Layla came over to help him in fending them off.

Meanwhile, Pitch was enjoying himself, torturing Sapphire by tightening his grip on the Donnie Decoy. "Oww! Stop it!" the Decoy screamed. "Leave him alone, Pitch! Let him go!" Sapphire begged as dark clouds formed in the sky.

"Let him go? Well…If you say so!" Pitch cackled and to Sapphire's horror, dropped what the young girl thought was her little brother!

"_Aaaahhhh!_" the Decoy shrieked as it plunged down towards the water. "**DONNIE!**" Sapphire screamed, diving after her baby brother.

But she was a second too late.

The Donnie Decoy hit the water with a hard 'splash!' "NOOOO!" Sapphire screamed in agony before she heard Pitch laughing.

"Haha! Tricked you!" a plume of black sand suddenly emerged from the water and floated up to Pitch, much to Sapphire's shock. "You are such a gullible little girl! You fall for it so easily!" the Boogeyman laughed.

That's when Sapphire completely snapped…and the ocean began to boil and churn.

"Stop it…Stop it...**STOP IT!**" Sapphire screamed as her eyes flashed red instead of blue and a water spout ejected her up into the air to be eye-to-eye level with Pitch once again. Pitch summoned up a huge wave of nightmare sand to engulf Sapphire. But to his and the Guardians' shock, Sapphire fought back with a water beam.

"**I'LL KILL YOU!**" the girl shrieked before letting out a loud siren-like shriek that made everyone reel away, covering their ears. Overwhelmed, Pitch quickly vanished but that didn't do anything to calm Sapphire.

Still in a rage, she let out another shrill shriek as water swirled around her. Soon the girl became an out of control human waterspout! "She's gone nuts! Take cover!" Bunny yelped as the reindeer struggled to keep the sleigh away from the danger. "We have to calm her down! She's gonna hurt herself!" Tooth said worriedly as Baby Tooth took cover. "I'll try to find a way in!" North yelled, yanking on the reins.

But no matter what side they tried to force their way into, it was no use. Sandy then noticed that the top part of the waterspout was sort of safe and mimed the idea to the other Guardians.

"We enter through the top!" Layla shouted, understanding the Sandman's frantic sand symbols. "The sleigh can't fit in! It looks like only three of us can get through!" Jack shouted after he had flown up to the top of the waterspout to scope it out.

"If that's the case, you, me and Layla are going in! Now hop on and hold on tight!" Marina said.

Quickly, the winter spirit and little nymph climbed onto the swan's back and took off. Through the roar of the swirling water, Jack, Marina and Layla tried to calm Sapphire down.

"Sapphire, please calm down!" Marina yelled frantically. "You have to calm down! Sapphire!" Jack shouted at the girl as they dove into the vortex. Suddenly a large water whip lashed out at them! Startled, Marina swerved wildly to avoid it. Layla nearly lost her balance on that one and when Marina swerved again, she fell from the swan's back!

Jack quickly grabbed the girl's hand to keep her from getting sucked into the waterspout. But the waterspout was completely out of control, putting all three of them in danger!

"Help! Saph! _HELP!_" Layla screamed in terror. Jack struggled to keep his grip steady on Marina's reins and his hold on Layla's hand. But things weren't going good! They were gonna get swamped by the water! "Sapphire snap out of it!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Deep in the waterspout's eye Sapphire was crying, feeling utterly lost, alone and most of all, ashamed. Pitch's cruel trick had revealed to everyone her fear of losing her loved ones-and failing to protect them.

'_If I can't protect my family…What good am I as a Guardian?!_' she thought in despair. That's when she heard three voices from up above. First Marina, then Jack and the next voice snapped her out of her rage and despair.

"_Help! Saph! HELP!_"

"_Layla!_" she gasped before she heard Jack's voice shout, "Sapphire snap out of it!" The red glow from Sapphire's eyes vanished as she forced herself to contain the waterspout. The Guardians nervously watched as the waterspout slowly collapsed. Marina steadied herself while Jack quickly pulled Layla back up on her back, much to their relief.

But the effort from battling Pitch and raging out before containing the waterspout drained Sapphire of her energy. The water she was standing on also collapsed and she began to plummet down towards the ocean! "Sapphire!" Layla yelped. Quickly Jack got off Marina and dove after the young girl, catching her in his arms, not a moment too soon. Sapphire's eyes were shut, making Jack worry. Then to his relief, her eyes fluttered open revealing her tired deep blue orbs.

"Sapphire…" Jack whispered worriedly. "Oh man…What happened…?" the girl groaned weakly. "It's alright. You're safe now…" Jack said as he carried her to the sleigh and set her down in the backseat.

"Glad that's over…" Marina sighed in relief, catching up with them. Layla got on the sleigh and sat beside her big sister, seeing how mentally and physically exhausted she was.

"We're almost at the Pole. We can rest up there for the night." Tooth reported. Baby Tooth chirped softly and then let out a squeak as lightning split the sky before hiding in Jack's pocket. Sandy formed an umbrella over the entire sleigh to keep the rain out as it began to fall.

"Pick up the pace, mate. Looks like we're in for a storm tonight." Bunny said urgently. North cracked the reins and the reindeer sped up.

Throughout the entire ride, Sapphire looked down. Occasionally, she would meet Jack or Layla's eyes but always swiftly looked away. Worried, Layla gave her sister a small hug while Jack gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Sapphire still looked down, utterly ashamed and afraid. But inside, she was grateful for the duo's presence.

**Meanwhile, Pitch was seething with anger in his lair. He had obviously underestimated Sapphire's power and was now thinking of new ways to destroy her. But the Boogeyman knew that aside from her abilities, the young girl had the protection of the Guardians. The most protective of the young girl was Jack Frost who up until now had been Pitch's target for elimination. "Agh! With that boy watching her like a hawk, how am I going to get rid of her?!" Pitch scowled to himself. Then he remembered something crucial. He saw what the other Guardians had seen in Jack as well. A cruel smile appeared on Pitch's gray face. He formed a black sand image of a broken heart. "Of course…If I couldn't get Frost to join me then how about the girl he loves? I gain an ally in Sapphire and I break the boy's heart and his very soul…" Pitch chuckled as his Nightmares swarmed him.**

Upon arrival at Santoff Claussen, North immediately commanded some Yetis to prepare the guest rooms. Jack escorted Sapphire to the main room and to the nearest couch where the girl immediately collapsed onto.

"I'm exhausted…" she moaned. "Even if you did go crazy, I have to hand it to you kiddo, you're pretty tough." Bunny remarked, warming himself by the fire. "And here I thought Jack was the only one brave enough to stand up to Pitch one-on-one. Goes to show you that you _are _meant to be Guardian." North told her gently.

Tired but a bit comforted, Sapphire cracked a smile. Then lightning split the sky again and the thunder rumbled. "_Eeekk!_" Layla screamed, cowering under Marina's wing. "It's just a little storm, Layla." Tooth said comfortingly. "But it's scary…" Layla whimpered before ducking back under the white swan's wing again as lightning illuminated the sky.

"Your sister's afraid of storms?" Jack asked while Baby Tooth perched on his shoulder, a little surprised at how freaked out the tough little nymph was. "Yeah…You should see her hiding under the bed every time there's a storm." Sapphire laughed before lightning split the sky again. "Ah!" she yelped, clinging onto Jack as thunder rumbled shortly after. "Looks like Layla's not the only one…" Marina sighed.

Jack slightly smirked before gently rubbing Sapphire's back, soothing her. "You're scared of thunder and lightning, mate?" Bunny said, cocking his head. "No…! It's just that they remind me of…" Sapphire said hastily before trailing off. Layla knew why she fell silent. "The Accident?" she asked. Her big sister merely nodded and yawned. "I think I'll just crash here on the couch…" she said sleepily.

"I'll stay here too. It's a lot…safer." Layla agreed with her, settling down in an armchair next to her sister. "…I'm sorry I didn't save you…" Sapphire suddenly whispered. Her apology surprised everyone, especially Layla. "…You don't have to apologize. Things just happen…" Layla said softly before looking at Sapphire square in the eye and added, "_It's okay…_"

Sapphire looked at Layla and realized that everything was okay between her and her little sister. She smiled along with Layla. Suddenly, lightning flashed again. "_Aaahh!_" both sisters screamed, burying their heads under the cushions.

To soothe them, Marina began to sing a beautiful Celtic ballad. "My family comes from Scotland. I know all sorts of Celtic ballads" She explained when she saw everyone else's curious expressions and resumed singing. Everyone thought the song was relaxing. In no time, Sapphire and Layla were fast asleep. Quietly, North and the rest of the Guardians headed for their rooms. Only Jack stayed behind.

"You coming, Jack?" Tooth whispered. The Guardian of Fun looked at the two sleeping girls and shook his head. "You sure? We can…" Tooth began to say before Bunny nudged her and Sandy gave her a knowing look.

Realizing what the two meant, Tooth and Baby Tooth giggled and left. Jack just rolled his eyes and seeing that there weren't any chairs around, just grabbed a cushion and settled on the carpeted floor. Marina had finished her ballad and was already fast asleep.

Glancing at Sapphire, Jack remembered he still had the drawing of her in his pocket. He sneakily took it out, folded it neatly and slowly, gently, _quietly _slipped it into her pocket. Suddenly Sapphire stirred slightly. A lock of her brown hair fell across her face. Jack gently tucked it behind her ear. Sapphire smiled in her sleep, making Jack smile too. "Good night…Sweet dreams, Sapphire." Jack whispered before he fell asleep.

Sapphire found herself standing on a cliff edge, much to her confusion. One minute ago she was fast asleep, next she was looking down at the blackness down below. "Where…am I?" she wondered out loud.

A shadow suddenly loomed over her. Startled, she spun around to find Pitch smiling evilly at her. "Pitch!" Sapphire yelped, instinctively reaching for her dagger. But strangely, her dagger wasn't attached to her waist like usual! "No weapons and no powers. What are you going to do, young Guardian?" the Boogeyman taunted her. Sapphire glared, cracking her knuckles. "Easy…Hand to hand combat!" she yelled, charging at him. But to her shock, she went right through him! "You believe in me. But _I _don't believe in you." Pitch said coolly.

Enraged, Sapphire charged at him again only to nearly run right off the cliff. "Just accept the truth, girl. No one will ever believe in you. You'll just be a ghost to them-_dead _to them." The Boogeyman said darkly. "_You're lying!_" Sapphire shouted, beginning to feel scared. "Do you _see _anyone who believes you in here?" Pitch asked her.

Hoping that maybe Jack and the others were just hiding, Sapphire wildly looked around only to realize that she was all alone. "Told you!" Pitch cackled and used a small stream of black sand to trip her up. "_Aaahhhh!_" Sapphire screamed as she lost her balance and fell off the cliff. The last thing she saw was Pitch's cruel smile before she was swallowed by the darkness.

Sapphire let out a small gasp and sat upright, fully awake. That's when she realized that she was safe and sound in Santoff Claussen. It was all just a dream.

'_More like a nightmare…_' she thought, shuddering. Looking around, she saw Marina sleeping near the fireplace, the fire in it now only a few embers. She saw Layla curled up in the arm chair, sound asleep. Her mouth was slightly open as she softly snored. Smiling, Sapphire swung her legs off the couch.

"Ouch…!" a muffled grunt surprised her. Looking down, Sapphire noticed Jack sleeping on the floor. The winter spirit merely grunted and turned on his side without waking up, his hand gripping his crooked staff.

'_He stayed here to watch over us…How sweet!_' she thought, amused and touched at the same time. Then another thought popped into her head. '_Does Jack…like me?_'

Almost throughout the entire quest, Sapphire had heard the Guardians teasing her and Jack about being close. At first, she thought it was because she and Jack were always next to each other regardless of the situation. But now that she thought about it…Maybe they were talking about a different kind of close…

But Sapphire's musings were interrupted when she noticed her necklace charming glowing again, pointed at one of the windows. Quickly, she went over to it (while making sure she didn't step on Jack) and took a look outside. It was early dawn and there was nothing but a vast, white expanse of snow and ice. But then she noticed a small area filled with arctic water.

"The fifth gem…" she whispered to herself excitedly. Knowing she was going to need some help, Sapphire went over to Jack. "Jack, wake up…Jack…" she whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. "Hmmm…? Five more minutes, please…" the winter spirit muttered, rolling over again on his side.

Sighing, Sapphire decided to wake up Marina instead. "Huh…? Morning Sapphire…is it morning already?" the swan said sleepily. "Yeah it is, Marina. A bit early though. Anyway come on we gotta find the gem. It's outside." Sapphire said softly. "Alright." Marina said, readily getting up and they sneaked out of the Globe Room, with Sapphire bringing the Scepter of Creation with her.

"Better zip up your coat. It's gonna be freezing." Marina advised Sapphire as they got to the door leading outside. Sapphire obeyed and zipped her jacket up to her chin before opening the door. As soon as they were out, the duo took to the air. "As soon as you land on the water, I'm diving in." Sapphire told Marina. "Won't it be too cold for you?" the swan asked, concerned. "Relax I'll be back in 30 seconds, tops. If there's trouble, let me know by squawking as loud as you can." Sapphire said brightly. "Wouldn't it be easier if I just _yell?_" Marina said jokingly as they neared the water. "Whatever works for you, my friend." Sapphire laughed before she spotted something in the distance. Marina spotted it too. "Uh…Saph…We have company." She whispered. "Just keep flying down…" Sapphire whispered, carefully unsheathing her dagger.

The two of them continued their descent. They were close to touching the water when suddenly…_bam!_ A swirl of nightmare sand spouted out of the water, startling them into going back up. Minutes later, a Nightmare killer whale leaped up high into the air before Sapphire fired a water blast at it. "More aquatic Nightmares, Pitch? _Really?!_" the young girl exclaimed, annoyed.

Then she noticed a stream of black sand nearing the Scepter of Creation. "Evasive!" she ordered Marina urgently. She had to protect the Scepter at all costs. Quickly the white swan obeyed, twisting and swerving in all directions as more Nightmares attacked and Sapphire blasted them with water and slashed them with her dagger. But more Nightmares just kept on coming. Seeing no other option, Sapphire screamed as loud as she could, "_Somebody help us!_"

**Another cliffhanger! I'm evil, aren't I? And if you're all wondering why one paragraph was in bold print…Let's just say it's a warning of things to come… (*evil laugh*)**

**Oh! And I gotta tell you that I actually have a playlist of songs in my iPod that I used in writing different chapters of the story. So far here are the songs I've used:**

**Touch the Sky from Brave****: Used in Chapter 6 when Marina takes Sapphire on a 'whirlwind of a tour' upon arrival to Mother Nature and Father Time's world.**

**Just a Dream by Nelly (Piano Instrumental)****: Used in Chapter 9. This is the song Sapphire and Layla played on the piano at The Tooth Palace ;)**

**Noble Maiden Fair from Brave****: Used here in Chapter 11. This is the ballad Marina sings.**

**I'll give you guys more songs with every chapter I post. Till then, read and review please :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**I apologize if I have made you guys wait. As promised, here is Chapter 12!  
Again, I do NOT own ROTG and all rights go to DreamWorks.**

**Chapter 12**

Jack was having a fun dream of snowball fights with Jamie and his friends when a girl's scream pulled him out of it. Rubbing his eyes, Jack got up from the floor only to find Sapphire missing. He went over to Layla's armchair and shook the little nymph awake.

"Layla…Layla where's your sister?" he whispered urgently. "Huh..? What..?" Layla yawned as she got up. "Where is she?" Jack wondered out loud, worriedly looking around the room.

"I'm sure she's fine. Marina's probably with her." The younger Aquamarie girl said, nonchalantly glancing outside. Then she turned pale and squeaked, "Or maybe not!"

Jack went over to the window to see on what was making Layla nervous. He saw, much to his horror, Sapphire and Marina being besieged by Pitch's Nightmares!

"We gotta help them! Come on!" he shouted, unlatching the window and flying out. Layla looked a bit apprehensive but followed him out of the window anyway. "Brr…It's freezing!" she muttered, teeth chattering.

But one look at her big sister struggling to fight Pitch's small armada made her flush with anger.

"Hang on sis! Help is on the way!" she yelled, flying as fast as her little wings could take her.

Jack blasted snow and ice at a Nightmare that had come too close to Sapphire. "Thanks…" the young girl said, relieved. "You're welcome." Jack said, smiling modestly. "We can't let these things get their hooves on the Scepter!" Marina shouted, jabbing Nightmares with her beak. "Then let's get rid of them!" Layla shouted, conjuring up a leaf tornado to blow some Nightmares away.

The four of them fought hard, blasting water, frost and sharp leaves at advancing Nightmares and disorienting them with flying tricks. The Nightmare horde soon fell.

"I think that's all of them…" Sapphire panted, tired but relieved upon seeing there weren't any Nightmares in sight.

But man was she wrong.

Without warning, a stream of black sand snaked out from above and suddenly grabbed her by the collar!

"_Hey! Let me go!_" Sapphire cried, flailing her arms and legs wildly as she was pulled into the clouds. "_Saph!_" Marina shouted.

Frantically, Marina, Layla and Jack tried to follow her. But even more Nightmares showed up! "_Oh. Come. On!_" Layla exclaimed in frustration.

Good thing at this very moment the other Guardians came to help. They had heard the neighing of the Nightmares from their rooms and had gotten on the sleigh to assist their friends.

North waved his swords about wildly, felling Nightmares left and right along with Tooth using her wings. Bunny and Sandy stood back-to-back, tossing egg bombs, boomerangs and dream sand cannon balls in all directions. Jack looked up from combat to see a huge black cloud made of nightmare sand with Pitch standing on its center. And to his horror, the Boogeyman was holding a struggling, squirming Sapphire.

Jack tightened his grip on his staff. No way was he gonna let Pitch hurt her. Jack finished off one last Nightmare and rocketed up into the clouds.

Sapphire kicked wildly as Pitch tightened the grip on her shirtfront. "Just give it up. After today, you only have one day left before me and my Nightmares rule." Pitch said coolly. "Not. A. Chance." Sapphire growled with every kick she attempted to land on Pitch's slack jawed gray face.

"I suppose there's no reasoning with you. How about…_joining me?_" the Boogeyman asked her, smiling a little. The girl looked at him like he was insane. "The day I do that will be the day I die!" she shouted angrily.

Jack reached the spot the two were hovering on just as Pitch gave Sapphire a surprised look.

"Is that your final decision?" he inquired. Sapphire glared at him.

"Yeah, I mean it. Especially when I do _this!_" she sneered before giving Pitch a good hard kick in the gut (which made Jack feel very proud).

Doubling over in pain, Pitch dropped Sapphire. And that's when the young girl forgot one small detail.

She was hundreds of feet in the air, far away from the solid ground!

As she began to fall, Sapphire struggled to make water propellers from the clouds' moisture but couldn't do so since her arms were pinned down by the sheer wind force.

The only thing she _could _do-scream in terror at the top of her lungs.

"_No!_" Jack yelped before noticing that Pitch had somehow managed to slip away-yet again. But he had no time to worry about it now! Frantic, Jack dove after Sapphire hoping to catch her in free fall.

But he was a second too late.

Sapphire fell into the frigid waters with a hard splash. "_Sapphire!_" the winter spirit screamed. The other Guardians on the sleigh along with Marina and Layla anxiously watched the water, hoping that Sapphire would surface unharmed.

"I was so close…" Jack mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm sure she's okay. We just have to wait." Layla said softly as she hovered next to him and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Meanwhile, Sapphire surveyed the bottom of the ocean floor. Her charm was glowing brightly. "It's gotta be down here…" she whispered to herself excitedly.

That's when the Scepter of Creation started glowing as well. Startled, Sapphire noticed a square notch that had appeared on the upper left corner. Then suddenly, both her charm and the Scepter began to drag her to the bottom!

"_Whhoo-Whooaa!_" Sapphire yelped as she felt her feet scrape the ocean's bottom. That's when she noticed a small bottle a few feet away from her. Quickly Sapphire underwater walked to it and examined the bottle. A single red square gem was in it.

It was the fifth gem.

Carefully, Sapphire uncorked the bottle and let the gem swim out of it before swiftly grabbing it and lodged it in the Scepter. The red square sparkled brightly along with all the other gems.

'_Alright! Only one more and we just have to find the Pedestal of Beginnings!_' Sapphire thought excitedly.

Suddenly the Scepter glowed and began rising upwards taking her with it. "_Woo-hoo!_" Sapphire whooped as she burst out of the water, much to the Guardians' surprise and rocketed up into the air.

She noticed that she wasn't using water to propel herself and realized that the Scepter was holding her up. Grinning widely, she just whizzed about and laughed without a care in the world.

"It's great, isn't it?" a voice snapped her out of her reverie. Sapphire looked up to see Jack hovering right above her, smiling.

"You're right, Jack. Flying is just…_wow._ It's amazing…" she breathed out in awe. The cool wind, the endless blue sky…She could definitely see why Jack loved being up in the air. Then the Guardian of Fun grinned mischievously. "Race you!" he hollered. Sapphire laughed, "You're on!"

Then, Layla and Marina joined them.

"We wanna come too!" Marina said excitedly.

"But prepare to lose!" Layla cheered.

Laughing, the four of them took off streaking across the vast white landscape of the North Pole. After a while, they decided to go back to the sleigh. That's when Sandy formed a huge question mark over his head. North knew what the Guardian of Dreams was asking for.

"We have five of the gems now. Gems connected to us. Only one remains. _Where do we go now?_" he translated.

The other Guardians looked at each other, deep in thought. "Not just that…Where are we gonna find the Pedestal of Beginnings anyway?" Tooth added. Everyone looked at each other again, thinking hard.

"Maybe we should just keep flying. You never know, we might find it when we least expect it." Bunny suggested. "Sounds like a plan." Sapphire shrugged before she noticed that the moonstone on the Scepter was flashing.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Layla asked, confused. "Once again, this is new." Sapphire replied.

Then a thin beam of light shot out of the moonstone. "I think it's trying to lead us somewhere." Marina guessed. "Only one way to find out." Jack said glancing at North.

The Guardian of Wonder nodded and cracked the reins. The reindeer picked up the pace. After a short while of flying through the thick clouds, the sky eventually cleared. The temperature also began to turn warmer. "That looks like…a beach." Tooth pointed at the strip of sand below them.

They were flying above a landmass now that mostly consisted of beaches. "It _is _a beach." Sapphire mused before Layla squealed and pointed out a white beach house.

"Saph! Look! That's _our _beach house!" she shrieked excitedly. Marina looked confused. "_Your _beach house?" she asked. "It's where Layla and I always hung out with our friends during summer vacation." Sapphire explained before breaking out into a wide grin.

"You mean we're on your home turf?" Bunny said, raising an eyebrow quizzically. "Yep! _Welcome to Florida!_" Layla whooped, her eyes sparkling.

Sapphire hopped on Marina and took off. "Hey sis, wait up!" Layla giggled following her. Laughing, the two sisters frolicked about the beach happy to be back home. Dolphins came up from the waves to play with them as they flew all around and they ran across the sand, doing cartwheels.

While they played about, North parked the sleigh in a secluded and shaded cove, safe from prying eyes.

"You think the last gem's hidden here?" Tooth wondered aloud. Sandy shrugged and formed an image of a pedestal. "Maybe or the Pedestal of Beginnings?" Bunny said before noticing a coconut tree heavy with nuts. Coolly, he tossed one of his boomerangs up at it.

'_Thwack!_' a coconut fell from the tree and Bunny caught it. Cracking it open in half, Bunny handed one half to Tooth. "Why thank you, good sir." Tooth giggled. "Anytime madam." The rabbit chuckled, giving a courtly bow.

Jack looked at North with an amused look. "Since when did those two get so close?" he inquired. "Heaven knows when. Apparently you and Sapphire aren't the only ones." The Russian chuckled.

"North…" Jack whined, looking annoyed. "I've experienced this before, Jack. You like someone but you don't want anybody to know…But the more you deny, the more people _will _know you like someone and so will you." North said calmly.

The Guardian of Fun sighed grudgingly. "Ok I admit it. I like Sapphire. Happy?" he said tiredly. "And he finally admits to it!" North boomed to the others, who burst out laughing (well Sandy _silently _laughed).

"_Finally!_" Bunny guffawed.

"That's so sweet!" Tooth cooed.

Baby Tooth chirped excitedly.

Sandy formed sand hearts over his head.

Jack looked at North who smiled innocently.

"Really? _Really?_" Jack muttered.

Annoyed, the winter spirit flew over to where Sapphire and Layla were. The two sisters were collecting seashells.

"Seashells are just amazing. Once upon a time, they were homes for little animals. And when they grew out of them, the animals would abandon them and look for a new one. To them, those seashells were already useless." Sapphire told him, admiring one particularly pretty shell.

A shiny, blue Baby's Ear Moon.

"What they don't know is that those '_useless shells_' are now kind of like little treasures of the ocean…" Jack said, looking at it as well. Sapphire smiled. "Yeah…I never thought about that…" she said wistfully.

Then glancing at Jack, Sapphire slipped the shell into Jack's hand. Jack looked at the seashell apprehensively. "You sure?" he asked, rolling the shell in his palm. "Mm-hm. I just wanted to…you know…let you know how much I appreciate you and the others for being there for me. It…really means a lot." Sapphire said shyly, her cheeks turning pink.

Jack blushed a little as well before catching Layla's eye. The nymph pointed at the ocean with a mischievous smirk on her face.

Uh-oh…

Jack looked at the ocean and at Sapphire who noticed that he was turning paler than usual. "What is it?" she asked in a concerned tone. "Nothing…" the winter spirit said quietly. Sapphire smiled. "Oh okay…Hey, you wanna go swimming?" she said cheerfully grabbing his hand and began walking toward the ocean.

Nervously, Jack dug his heels in the sand.

"Okay _now _I'm sure there's something wrong. What is it, Jack?" the young girl said, letting go of the winter spirit's hand and facing him with her hands on her hips and right eyebrow raised in question.

"Nothing's wrong! It's just that I…" Jack said before looking at the ocean and turning paler again. Sapphire looked at the ocean, back at the Guardian of Fun and realized it now.

"You don't know how to swim, don't you?" she asked.

Sheepishly, Jack nodded.

"Why didn't you say so? I'd be happy to teach you the basics." Sapphire said questioningly. Jack rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "I just didn't know how to ask you...Layla told me you're the best teacher for me. But I'm kind of nervous about getting into the water and I'm…scared of getting eaten by sharks." He admitted.

Sapphire looked confused. "Eaten by sharks..?...Oh…did Layla tell you about those '_challenges_' in the ocean?" she laughed. "Yeah? Why?" Jack replied, confused.

Sapphire chuckled. "She says that to all the new swimmers in town to scare them. Those incidents rarely happen." She explained.

Jack shot a glare in Layla's direction. "Hey, girl's gotta have a little fun!" the 11 year old laughed.

Sapphire looked at Jack from head-to-toe. "Well I think you've got potential to be a great swimmer. But before we commence swimming for real, there's something I need you to do. _And that's drop the staff._"

**Another good song to listen to in this chapter, especially when the team arrives in Sapphire and Layla's sunny home of Florida is "Sound of Sunshine" by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Trust me, it's a great summery song **

**Looks like Jack's gonna have to leave his staff behind if he wanna learns how to swim. You think he'll do it? Or will he chicken out at the last second? Review or PM me your guesses :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**Back with another update **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG and DreamWorks Animation has all the rights.**

**Chapter 13**

"Excuse me?" Jack said in shock.

Drop his staff? He rarely let the old thing out of his sight!

"Look, I think the reason why you can't swim is because water pretty much freezes whenever you're around it." Sapphire began.

"Well yeah, it's my thing. And the staff only helps me _channel _my power. So even if I don't have my staff, I can still use my magic." Jack cut in.

"Then you'll have to _control _your power. When you're in the water, don't think of it freezing over." Sapphire advised him.

The Guardian of Fun weighed his decision carefully and gripped his staff. Sandy had decided to play in the sand with Marina when he saw Jack walk over to him.

"Do you mind holding onto my staff for a while, Sandy?" he asked. The golden man smiled and took the shepherd's crook. "Thanks." Jack said gratefully.

"Going swimming?" Marina asked. "Yeah. Wish me luck…" the winter said nervously before going back to Sapphire. Marina and Sandy looked at each other and scratched their heads.

"Alright. Step One is complete: _Remove all distractions from your body._ Step Two: _Follow Me to Starting Position._" Sapphire grinned, grabbing Jack's hand and led him to a small rocky outcropping facing the ocean.

Jack nervously peered down at the edge. Was it just him or was the water way, way, _way down below_?

"Okay…What's Step Three?" he asked, feeling queasy.

Sapphire had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Step Three? _Jump._" She said simply.

Jack's jaw dropped. "Y-You want me to j-j-jump from _here _all the way to down _there?!_ Are you nuts?! No way!" he protested, shaking his head.

Sapphire sighed before a surprised look came over her face.

"Nightmare behind you!" she shrieked.

Panicked, Jack spun around with his fists raised. But he only had a nanosecond to figure out that Sapphire tricked him before she promptly shoved him over the edge.

"Waaaahhhhhh!" Jack screamed as he belly flopped into the ocean. Laughing, Sapphire dove in after him.

Jack was freaking out, wildly thrashing his arms and legs to desperately float up to the surface as he held his breath. Sapphire managed to take hold of his hands. To her surprise, a bright blue glow encircled him. Curious, the young girl studied it before she understood.

"It's okay, Jack. You can stop holding your breath now." She giggled, noticing that Jack's cheeks were puffed up.

Tentatively, Jack exhaled. To his surprise, water didn't enter his mouth or nose. He could breathe.

"Come on! Move those arms & legs, Frosty!" Sapphire ordered as she guided Jack through the basics.

How to tread water properly (No thrashing allowed!), the basic arm strokes, proper paddling and a bunch of other swimming techniques. At first, Jack didn't really get it and sometimes ice would start to form in the water. But with Sapphire's guidance and constant reminders of controlling his powers, he executed them flawlessly.

As a reward, Sapphire called some dolphins over to take them on a little ride. The two of them happily swam around amongst the colorful reefs and played with the fish.

"See what you've been missing?" Sapphire asked Jack, a contented look on her face.

Jack gazed around. Before, he always thought there would be nothing but darkness underwater. Now that he was underwater, surrounded by colorful marine life, he knew that he was wrong.

"Yeah…It's beautiful…" he said breathlessly before glancing at Sapphire.

She was like, even more beautiful than anything in the ocean and world itself. Jack smiled as he and Sapphire rode the dolphins to the surface.

"Thank you." Jack faced the young girl with a smile on his face. Sapphire smiled shyly. "It's nothing really…" she said humbly as they waded to shore.

They decided to rest by a small tide pool, letting the sun dry their clothes. Jack felt really awkward about taking his hoodie off so he kept it on and Sapphire also kept her shirt on too.

"So…When did you first learn how to swim?" Jack decided to ask Sapphire, eager to start a conversation.

"I was three years old when my parents taught me. They're both marine biologists, divers and surfers. They pretty much taught me how to swim, surf and just love the water. And when I was five, I had surfing lessons. By the time I was seven, I could swim out to the ocean on my own and was participating in surfing contests both here and in California." The young girl said, with a hint of pride in her voice.

Jack was rather impressed. Then Sapphire frowned as she remembered her parents. Jack nervously bit his lip. He must've reminded Sapphire of her family.

"You miss your parents?" he asked timidly. "Yeah, I do…Hey, what about _your _parents?" Sapphire suddenly looked at him curiously.

Jack slightly stiffened up at her question. Sapphire then realized what she had just said and blushed guiltily.

"Sorry…I forgot that…" she trailed off and the two lapsed into awkward silence.

"You had a pretty good childhood." Jack said after a few minutes of silence. "Yeah I guess I did. What about you? What was your childhood like?" Sapphire inquired.

Jack thought about it for a few minutes. Considering the fact that he and his family lived during colonial times, remembering was tricky.

"Well for starters, my parents were often busy but they always had time for me and my sister. My mom was a dressmaker while my dad was a craftsman. Even if they were busy, they'd always take me, my sister and some of the neighborhood kids out on picnics in the woods and a bunch of other fun stuff. Most of our days were spent playing games and learning trades. My sister helped mom with sewing while I helped dad in his shop or hunted in the woods for game with him." He said carefully.

Sapphire's eyes widened.

"Wait, you didn't have school? You're lucky." She said surprised. "Oh, we did. But reading, writing and arithmetic were what they all taught us." Jack replied.

"Still, you were pretty lucky. You didn't have to worry about Algebra, Chemistry and all the subjects we high school students have to deal with. Trust me, it's sheer torture!" Sapphire said enviously. Jack just laughed. "So…I don't mean to pry but…what was your sister like? What was her name?" Sapphire asked timidly. The Guardian of Fun suddenly went silent, making her squirm uncomfortably.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to…you know…" she said awkwardly. Jack sighed. "Truth be told…I don't remember my sister's name. Or my parents'. The only things I remember about my family were all the fun times we had together. My sister…well, she was a really fun kid. Sweet, caring, creative, always up for fun…she was just the best sibling in the whole world." He said wistfully.

Sapphire comfortingly put a hand on his shoulder. "You miss them, don't you?" she asked gently. The winter spirit nodded silently.

"Well Jack, I'm sure wherever your family is now, they're happy for you." Sapphire told him.

Jack smiled at her and blushed slightly as their fingers interlocked. That's when they heard a giggle. The two teens looked over their shoulders to see Marina and Layla giggling as Sandy (who was still holding Jack's staff) watched them, clearly amused.

"Guys! Really?!" Sapphire exclaimed, flushing a deep scarlet red.

Still giggling, Marina and Layla went back while Sandy just gave Jack back his staff. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Jack piped up, "Well looks like our clothes are dry." He seemed to have forgotten the weird incident and stood up.

Sapphire then noticed that the sun was already high up in the sky and that Jack didn't seem bothered by the heat.

"You feeling hot?" she asked curiously, standing up as well.

Jack shook his head much to her surprise.

"Really?" Sapphire asked, confused. "Yeah, I actually like going to the beach-mostly to freeze waves." Jack said, chuckling.

Then looking at the tide pool, he got an idea. Quickly, he zapped the water with his staff making it freeze solid.

"Come on." Taking Sapphire's hand, Jack guided her to the ice. "W-Wait! I don't know how to ice skate!" the girl said nervously, wobbling on her unsteady legs.

"That's why I'm gonna teach you. You taught me how to swim, now it's my turn to return the favor." Jack grinned at her.

Taking both of Sapphire's hands in his, Jack easily glided them both across the ice.

"Just follow my lead. Move your feet back and back…" he instructed.

Carefully, Sapphire did as she was told. Slowly but surely, she began to move.

"Good, that's it! Now I'm going to let you go. Just keep yourself balanced & keep going." Jack said, loosening his grip on Sapphire's hands. "But won't I fall flat on my butt or face without skates?" the young girl asked nervously.

"You don't really need ice skates. Just your feet and good balance." Jack said smiling before he let go of her hands.

Nervously, Sapphire tried to stay balanced whilst still gliding. Then after a few shaky minutes, she grinned and whizzed about the improvised rink.

"I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Sapphire shouted with glee as she skated circles around Jack.

Laughing, the two of them spun around on the ice as the Guardians, Marina and Layla watched them have fun. Jack skated backward while Sapphire skated forward. The winter spirit couldn't help but smile dreamily at Sapphire and she did the same.

Suddenly Sapphire hit a rough patch of ice, lost her balance and toppled over Jack. For a few minutes, the two teens just stared at each other before they started laughing. Suddenly they heard some unfamiliar voices.

Well, unfamiliar to the Guardians and Marina anyway.

"Is that the Jolly Big Red Man?" a deep, male voice rang out in wonder.

"And the Sandman?" a high pitched girl voice said, amazed.

"Whoa! The Easter Bunny is _huge!_" a mellow female voice exclaimed.

"I'm taking a wild guess and say that cutie with the white hair is Jack Frost." A flirty girl voice giggled.

Confused, the little party spun around to see five teens staring at them.

A brown-skinned boy with a black buzz cut wearing red board shorts and a black sleeveless tee, a freckle-faced girl with auburn hair wearing a yellow swimsuit. Another boy although fair in complexion, wearing sports glasses, a white shirt and blue shorts. A blonde girl with cat-green eyes wearing a green swimsuit and a red-headed girl with blue eyes wearing a bright pink swimsuit. All of them were holding surfboards.

Layla and Sapphire both smiled. The five teens looked at them both. "Layla?!" the two boys exclaimed, shocked. "Sapphire?!" the three girls were also equally shocked.

"Haven't seen you guys in a while." Layla grinned at them. "Nathan, Georgia, Nick, Abby, Collette! How've you all been?" Sapphire said cheerfully.

"This is too weird…Since when did Layla come back to life? And why does she have _wings _now?" Nick mumbled, confused.

"And Saph, Donnie called us up two weeks ago…He said you were…" Georgia said, trailing off.

"Long story. You have time to listen?" Marina piped up, making the two Aquamaries' friends stare.

Sitting down under some palm trees at the beach, Sapphire told her friends the whole story. How she first met Jack, saved Donnie from Pitch resulting into her transformation into a water spirit and why they were here. After a few minutes to let all the info sink in, Sapphire and Layla's friends got acquainted with the Guardians.

"Well we haven't really seen any special gems or a Pedestal of Beginnings around here." Nathan said, shrugging. The Guardians looked slightly disappointed. "Maybe Jamie and his friends know something." Jack suggested. "Probably. We could go to Burgess next." Tooth agreed with him.

Before any of the Guardians could make a move to go to the sleigh, Abby nudged Sapphire. "Hey, Saph! If you've got time to kill…Wanna hang ten?" she asked with a big grin on her face.

Sapphire's eyes sparkled. "You bet!" she said happily. "Can I come too? _Pleeeaaassse?_" Layla begged as Collette ran to the beach house to get something. "Well…" Sapphire began to say, a little unsure when Collette came back holding two surfboards, blue and green along with two surfer's outfits.

"Like I promised before you left-I've kept them in good shape. And I suppose we can cut slits at the back of Layla's for her wings." She said. Finally, Sapphire looked at her little sister and nodded.

After a short while, Layla and Sapphire emerged from the beach house, ready to surf.

"So you're a really good surfer, eh?" Bunny asked. "Oh yeah, man. The five of us can hang ten. But Saph's _way _better." Nathan grinned.

Sandy formed a few sand images over his head, asking for something. Sapphire knew what he wanted.

"Watch and learn guys." She said smoothly.

Heading into the water, the young girl tied her hair back into a ponytail and paddled out. The others watched excitedly as she caught a wave. North shrugged because he didn't really see anything dare devilish or exciting at what she was doing.

"Well her balance is good…" he began to say more before Georgia cut in. "Wait for it…" Suddenly Sapphire streaked across the water, doing all sorts of flips and tricks!

"Look at her go!" Marina exclaimed in awe.

Sandy formed support flags over his head to cheer the girl on. Sapphire spotted a curl and went straight for it. But then as one part of the wave cascaded down, she disappeared! "She's gone!" Tooth said in fear.

The Guardians began to panic. "Maybe she just wiped out…" Bunny said hopefully.

Then Jack looked up. "_Whoa._" He said, eyes widening in amazement.

Sapphire was riding right on top of the wave, smiling widely. "That's her specialty-climbing a wave to ride on top." Nick laughed as Sapphire rode the wave to shore, greeted by loud cheers and applause.

"What're you guys standing around here for? _Surf's up!_" she whooped.

Laughing, she, Layla and her friends hit the water, gleefully riding the waves and shooting across the water like fast seabirds while the Guardians rested at the beach.

"Sun, sand and surf-my definition of paradise." Sapphire proclaimed when she stopped by the shore where Jack was watching her.

Then she smiled deviously at the winter spirit.

"What's with the face?" Jack asked warily as Layla came, holding an extra blue surfboard.

Then it hit him.

"Oh no…No, absolutely no!" he protested before his staff was taken again.

Seeing that he had no choice, Jack grabbed the board and paddled after Sapphire out to the ocean. Layla, Marina, the Guardians and Layla and Sapphire's five friends now watched them from the beach.

"Oh this is going to be fun to watch." Bunny chuckled, seeing how nervous Jack was.

And the winter Guardian's nervousness increased tenfold when he saw the wave he and Sapphire were going to catch, which was _humongous._

"Oh yeah, bring it on! Wooo-hooo!" Sapphire whooped as they caught it.

Popping up on her board, Sapphire saw that Jack was still glued to his surfboard scared witless.

"Hey it's okay…Just stand up and stay steady." She said soothingly.

Jack looked at her, steeled his nerves and slowly popped up on his board. Then after a few minutes to keep his balance in check, he smiled.

He was _surfing!_

Laughing, the two teens climbed the water to the top of the wave, their friends cheering for them. Sapphire and Jack looked at each other and smiled. Then by accident, they leaned forward to each other and wiped out. The others anxiously rushed to the shore as they surfaced. To their relief, they were alright and burst out laughing.

"That was awesome!" Jack crowed, thrilled to no end. "Told you being in the water's fun!" Sapphire laughed.

Then suddenly, she pulled Jack underwater along with her. Then to make the winter spirit even more confused, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. So when the others saw them wade to shore, Jack was blushing as red as a tomato and Sapphire had a smug smirk.

**Haha! Sapphire is definitely an aquatic goddess! And this was one of my favorite chapters to write **

**Here are the 2 songs you must absolutely hear while reading this wonderful chapter…**

**Into the Open Air from Brave: play it when Jack's having his swimming lessons and Sapphire has ice skating lessons**

**Make it in America by Victoria Justice: played when Sapphire and her friends surf and Jack has to join in the fun :D**

**Anyways, enjoy this chapter Read and review whatever you like **


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys **

**This has got to be my most romantic chapter yet :D**

**Prepare to feel the love!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG and DreamWorks has all the rights.**

**Chapter 14**

It was early evening when Sapphire and Layla's friends wished them luck on their mission and went back to their homes. North and the other Guardians began making preparations to leave while Jack and Sapphire went for a walk on the beach.

The two of them then saw a fire dancer entertaining a crowd and decided to watch. Luckily, nobody saw them (since most of the people in the audience were adults) but then the fire dancer went too close to where Jack and Sapphire were standing and his torch grazed Sapphire's hand.

"_Yowww! Hot! Hot! HOT!_" the young girl yelped, frantically summoning up some water to splash on her burnt hand, which also put out the fire dancer's torch.

Puzzled, the crowd and fire dancer looked around for where the water had come from while Jack and Sapphire fled the scene.

"That was kind of embarrassing…" Sapphire mumbled sheepishly, fanning her hand. "But the looks on everyone's faces were hilarious!" Jack chuckled.

Sapphire couldn't help but giggle as well before her burn started acting up again. "Ouch…Guess water's not good in pain relief…" she mumbled, blowing on her hand again. "Let me take a look." Jack said and before Sapphire could object, took her burnt hand in his.

Sapphire went rigid for a few seconds in surprise but slowly relaxed as Jack's fingers slowly brushed against the burn.

"Hmmm…The burn's not that big. It's probably nothing serious." The winter spirit told Sapphire and to her dismay, began to let go.

"W-Wait! C-Can you hold on just a little bit longer? I-It's helping…" the young girl stammered out, cheeks turning red. She sounded like such a desperate, lovesick fool!

Surprised, Jack stared at her before he said, "O-Okay…"

Putting down his staff, Jack took Sapphire's hand in both of his. A long sigh came out of Sapphire's lips. His touch just felt so good.

"Does this help?" Jack giggled playfully rubbing his thumb across the small burn. Nodding, the young girl sighed, "Oh yeah…Much better…"

Then she noticed that Jack's cheeks were slightly red. "You okay?" she asked him. "Uh…Yeah…I was just thinking about what kind of happened after…we…wiped out." He mumbled.

Sapphire suddenly remembered what she did and looked away. "Sorry about that…" she said apologetically. "No, you didn't do anything wrong! I…I was just…" Jack said hastily but then ran out of words to say.

Just when he thought he and Sapphire were going to lapse into awkward silence, Jack noticed that the full moon was beginning to come out.

"Oh hey look! Manny's smiling at us!" he said to Sapphire, pointing at the barely visible smile on the Man in the Moon's face. Sapphire decided to look. "Oh yeah, he is! Hey Manny!" she said, waving at the moon.

The two of them locked eyes at some point.

'_Manny help me! I think I'm falling in love with her!_' Jack thought, his heart hammering in his chest.

'_Oh my God! I'm having a serious…No not a crush…I'm falling in love with Jack Frost!_' Sapphire thought, butterflies springing up in her stomach as they began to lean towards each other.

Their noses were almost touching when…

"Having fun there, mates?" Bunny said startling them as he stepped out of a grove of palm trees.

Instantly, the two teens jumped back from each other with Jack letting go of Sapphire's hand, much to her disappointment.

"Did I come at a bad time?" the rabbit asked, a mischievous smirk on his furry face.

Sapphire just blushed.

"Oh no…No…Your timing was just perfect…" Jack muttered, his teeth gritted in annoyance.

Bunny just chuckled.

"Thought so. Later, mates." He grinned before he turned to leave.

Suddenly to his surprise (and Jack's amusement), a black rain cloud appeared over his head and with a small thunderclap, a bucket's worth of rain doused and drenched him from head-to-toe. Sapphire smirked while Jack tried his best not to laugh as he watched Bunny wring the water out of his ears. Bunny shot a look at the young girl. He knew it was her.

"Haha. Very funny." He said dryly before leaving.

"Nice one." Jack complimented Sapphire, clearly amused and impressed. "Guess I'm starting to get used to my powers." Sapphire said modestly.

Smiling, the two teens caught up with Bunny and left Florida with the rest of the others. In no time, they were at Burgess.

"Hey Jack, what's going on here?" Sapphire asked curiously.

All of the townspeople were dressed in old-fashioned settler clothes and the whole town was decorated colonial style. Jack grinned.

"It's the Burgess Annual Colonial Times Festival. The town celebrates it in memory of the town's beginning as a colonial settlement." He explained as they landed the sleigh at the Pond.

To their luck, Jamie, Sophie and their friends Pippa, Claude, Caleb, Cupcake and Monty were there to greet them. They 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at Marina who blushed and let them sit on her back and stroke her feathers. They also got acquainted with Layla and soon, they were all playing together.

"Pretty!" Sophie giggled, stroking Marin's head. "You are so adorable!" Marina cooed.

The Guardians then told the kids about their mission.

"Well, we haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. But hey, since you're already here, you guys wanna join the festivities?" Jamie asked.

Jack and Sapphire looked at the Guardians hopefully.

"I suppose we can allow that." North said at last after a minute of beard-stroking deep thinking.

"We'll just stay hidden and observe." Bunny shrugged.

Sandy nodded in agreement.

"Meanwhile you kids have fun! But not too much candy." Tooth chimed in as Baby Tooth perched on Jack's shoulder.

Excited, Jack, Sapphire, Layla and the kids went into town.

The moon was already high up in the night sky and the festival was in full swing. There were games, food, music, jokes and fine conversations everywhere. People were playing, eating, singing, dancing and just having a great time together.

And Jack, Sapphire and the children were having a blast.

They played some colonial games, ate delicious treats and danced a few jigs. And to their delight, Jack played a few good pranks on some unsuspecting adults slipping them up on ice.

Then came the time for the community festival dance.

Lively music played from the band as dancers got together along with the townsfolk. Jamie, Sophie, their friends and Layla stayed with their peers and danced away. Jack and Sapphire quickly went to a cart that had costume cloaks and picked out their own.

As Sapphire took her coat off to put on her cloak, Jack furtively slipped a small white box in one of the pockets…

Then they donned their cloaks and joined the dance, the Guardians watching them from afar. Jack had seen the festival dance a lot of times before and was a good dancer, his bare feet keeping in perfect time with the music. Even Sapphire who was new to this sort of thing, proved to be a quick learner as she gracefully twirled around. In no time, the two of them were dancing together. Their feet sped up as the music gained tempo. As the music reached a crescendo, they danced away from each other. For the grand finale, they spun back to catch each other in their arms as the townspeople applauded the dancers.

Catching their breath, the two teens lingered by the piano. Then without a word, Jack sat down on the piano bench and began to play.

Surprised at how good he was, Sapphire smiled and sat down to join him. Not noticing that the piano was seemingly playing itself, the townspeople coupled up to dance.

Then the pianist came along with the guitarist.

To Sapphire's surprise, the pianist was her _mom_ and the guitarist was her _dad._

Quickly the two left as they joined the band.

Wanting to forget what just happened, Sapphire turned to Jack. "Would you…like to dance?" she asked uncertainly.

Jack was mildly surprised but he nodded.

When they got to the center of the plaza, Jack blushed.

"Just so you know…I'm…I'm not a really good dancer." He said awkwardly. Sapphire softly laughed. "That's okay…I can't really dance well either." She said as they took hold of each other and began to rock back and forth.

At first, the two were shy and kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact. But eventually, they began to look at each other as they twirled about, avoiding getting danced through by people.

Finally, Jack smiled at Sapphire.

His smile made her smile as well. Now they were closely pressed to each other, Jack having wrapped one arm around Sapphire's waist while his other arm was lightly on her shoulder and Sapphire had both hands on Jack's shoulders. Marina, Layla and the other Guardians were curiously watching them dance.

"I wonder if she's checking out his teeth…" Tooth wondered.

Sandy gave the fairy a confused look.

"Tooth…I don't think so." Bunny confirmed his friend's thought.

North leaned towards Marina. "I bet you ten rubles they'll kiss." He whispered. "You're on." Marina said, grinning.

"Ooohh…I really gotta get a closer look!" Layla exclaimed excitedly.

Carefully folding her wings, the little nymph slipped into the crowd to join the other kids. Then she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" a little boy said, looking up at her apologetically and gasped in shock.

Layla's heart leaped into her throat.

It was Donnie, her little brother.

Jamie turned around to see the two siblings staring at each other.

"Hey Donnie, your sister's a really good dancer." He said cheerfully. Donnie looked at him, confused.

Then Layla cupped his chin in her hands and looked him in the eye.

"Donnie, just _believe._ If you believe, you'll see her." She whispered.

Donnie looked at Layla and allowing her to take him into the crowd, focused on the center of the town square. At first, he only saw Jack dancing on his own but little by little he saw someone else.

His eyes widened.

His big sister, Sapphire was dancing with the winter spirit looking as happy as she could be.

"Saph…?" he mumbled in awe before looking at Layla who smiled.

Still in awe, Donnie just watched the two teens dance. Snowflakes and light mists swirled in the air as ice and water coated the ground as Jack and Sapphire danced. As the music ended, Jack gave Sapphire a final twirl. Holding onto each other's hands, the two of them looked into each other's eyes. Jack's face and hair seemed to glow in the moonlight. His icy blue eyes were just…

'_Magical…_' Sapphire thought dreamily.

As moonlight bathed Sapphire's face, Jack felt his heart thudding in his chest. '_She's so beautiful…Oh Manny I really __**am **__in love with her!_' he thought.

They began to lean toward each other, much to their friends' delight.

This was it!

But just as their lips were mere inches away, all the lights suddenly went out. And loud neighs came from the surrounding areas, startling everyone in the town square into silence.

That's when it happened.

To the Guardians' horror, Nightmares charged out of the darkness.

And the people could see them…

Screaming, the people scattered and rushed away back to their homes. Sapphire and Jack let go of each other.

"Alright, this is just ridiculous. Pitch has gone way too far." Jack muttered, gripping his staff. "Ditto to that." Sapphire agreed with him, unsheathing her dagger.

Quickly the Guardians sprung into action.

"Jamie, get Sophie and your friends out of here!" Layla shouted. "Okay! Move it guys!" Jamie yelled, herding his friends away from the square.

Suddenly Layla saw her parents and Donnie cornered by a large Nightmare.

"S-Stay back!" Donnie's father yelled, face pale. "Don't come any closer!" his wife shrieked. Donnie just whimpered and clung to his mom.

That's when Sapphire came and blasted the Nightmare with a water cannon.

"Stay _away _from my family!" she screamed furiously at any Nightmare that dared come close, scaring them off.

When she turned to face her family, what she got were shocked, stunned and confused faces.

"Mom, Dad, Donnie go! Run!" she said suddenly.

As much as she wanted to catch up with them, Sapphire knew she had to get them out of here!

"Saph…I don't think mom & dad…" Donnie said hesitatingly before his parents scooped him up.

"I don't know who you're talking to, Don but we have to get out of here!" his father said hastily.

Sapphire's heart sank as her family hurried away from the scene with the rest of the townspeople. Layla flew over to her sister. "It's best they don't know…" she told her gently.

Nodding, Sapphire rejoined the battle.

Sandy lassoed Nightmares with his dream sand, allowing Bunny to slice them with his boomerangs. North, Tooth, Baby Tooth and Marina fought Nightmares off with swords and wings. Layla used her plant magic to get rid of any incoming Nightmares. Twirling and brandishing her dagger, Sapphire fought off hordes of Nightmares along with Jack who blasted them with frost.

Suddenly, all the Nightmares dissolved into black sand and retreated to the shadows, where Pitch stepped out of.

"_Pitch._" Jack glared at the Boogeyman.

The Guardians prepared to attack.

Pitch smiled darkly and… _"Boo!"_

Thrusting his hands out, Pitch unleashed another wave of nightmare sand!

"Not again!" Sapphire yelped before Sandy shielded them with a dream sand shield.

The next thing they knew, all the trees, grass, flowers and any kind of greenery had died and shriveled into black stubs. And it was if the night had grown darker in town.

"_Oh no…_" Layla whispered in horror.

The Guardians merely stared at their surroundings in shock.

**Romance and suspense…Next chapter's gonna blow all of you away.**

**And for the Community Festival Dance Scene, I listened to 'Kingdom Dance' from Tangled while writing it **

**For Jack and Sapphire's couples dance, try listening to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri and Steve Kazee ;)**

**Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, faves, and follows. You all inspire me to keep writing and for that, Thank You! Until the next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen…prepare for major angst!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG**

**Chapter 15**

"Mom, Dad for the last time-I _did _see Sapphire _and _Layla! Why don't you guys believe me?" Donnie insisted to his parents.

"Sweetie you were probably just seeing things." His mom said, checking to make sure all the windows were shut tight before pulling down the blinds.

"Oh so the water cannon _Sapphire _shot out was just a figment of my imagination? You saw it too!" Donnie stubbornly told her.

"Don, not now. What just happened tonight's already shaken up the whole town…And why is this clock acting all wacko?" his father muttered, examining their wall clock.

The two hands were spinning crazily all around. They checked their cell phones' clocks but the numbers were also changing. It was like time had gone all out of balance!

"Okay I'm not gonna bug you two anymore tonight. But tomorrow morning, please come with me to Jamie's house." Donnie pleaded.

Not wanting to argue anymore with their son, Mr. and Mrs. Aquamarie just said yes and went to bed.

"As far as we know, nobody in Burgess is having nightmares but most of the town's greenery was destroyed. On top of that, all of the clocks aren't working properly." North reported grimly.

After making sure that the townsfolk were all okay, the Guardians immediately went back to the Palace of Beginnings and reported everything to Mother Nature and Father Time. Millennium looked at the two great beings as they pondered.

"Very unusual for Pitch to do that…" Father Time said thoughtfully. "We must set things right as soon as possible. After tomorrow, the lunar eclipse will occur." Mother Nature said firmly.

"All we need is to find the last gem. Then we can look for the Pedestal of Beginnings." Sapphire said, holding the Scepter of the Creations.

"But if Pitch keeps attacking us, we're going to have a problem." Jack piped up. "That's what I've been thinking too. We might need a new game plan." Bunny agreed with him.

Sandy spouted some images over his head.

"What've you got, Sandy?" Tooth asked as more sand images popped over the Guardian of Dreams' head.

Sapphire carefully translated. "Sandy says that since we're too big of a target together, we should try disorienting Pitch and his Nightmares by splitting up. The harder it is for the Boogeyman to get us one by one; the more ground we can cover in our search." The young girl looked at the Sandman for confirmation. Sandy gave her a thumbs-up.

The Guardians looked at each other and slowly nodded. They had to admit, Sandy's idea was brilliant. "Alright, let's get to planning." Layla chimed in, Baby Tooth chirping in agreement.

The plan was to search each assigned area thoroughly. So the Guardians carefully planned which places to search. Bunny offered to search Australia and all the other areas in the South. North in the Northern areas, Sandy in the East, Tooth would search in the West. Marina and Layla agreed to search through the forests while Jack would look around areas surrounding Burgess. Sapphire volunteered to look around Florida.

"Okay, let's split up guys." Marina said cheerfully.

"Find anything, report back to the Palace immediately." Millennium instructed them. Nodding, the Guardians split up and went on their way.

Bunny furiously tunneled across Australia, peeking out of rabbit holes occasionally as he continued around the South.

So far, nothing unusual in his area.

"That Pitch is a slippery roo alright…" he muttered to himself as he continued looking.

North scoured his sector through the air on his sleigh, the reindeer looking around cautiously as well. Nothing odd either.

Sandy watched from his dream sand cloud up high in the East. He didn't spot anything odd either.

Tooth along with her fairies, flew across the West only to find nothing. "Strange…" she mumbled.

Layla and Marina searched every forest in the world thoroughly. They asked every animal they met and they hadn't found anything strange either.

Jack looked around Burgess. The place was still covered with dark clouds and the plants were all withered and dead. What really saddened the winter Guardian was how sad the townspeople were over the state of their town.

'_Pitch is so gonna get it when we find him._' He thought angrily as he continued his search.

Sapphire poked her head out of the water. She had searched every inch underwater and scoured her area but hadn't found anything.

Deciding to rest, she made her way to a secluded cove. Sapphire sighed and reclined on the sand, wondering what to do next.

"What to do…What to do…" she muttered.

"I have a suggestion." A dark voice behind her said.

Startled, Sapphire turned to see Pitch standing behind her. By instinct, she unleashed her water whips and prepared to attack.

"Whoa! Whoa! Easy, girl! I'm not here to fight but to make a deal." The Boogeyman said hastily.

"Deal to what? You've already done enough damage." Sapphire glared at him.

Pitch smiled coolly.

"A deal to help you and your loved ones. If you join me, I promise you that you'll never have to worry about losing your friends and family ever again." He said smoothly.

Sapphire looked at him suspiciously. "I'm listening." She said thoughtfully before she snapped out of it. "Wait! What am I saying?! _No!_" she said quickly shaking her head. Jack and the others had warned her about Pitch and no way was she gonna fall for his tricks!

"Just think of it, Sapphire. Think of what we can do together. And like I said before, if you join me I promise you that your parents and darling baby brother and sister will never be harmed. What do you say?" Pitch asked hopefully.

Sapphire thought about it. Maybe she should…

Finally she looked at Pitch and after a minute & said, "…_Deal._"

Pitch smiled as a dark cloak materialized in his hands. "Wonderful. Now there's…something I need you to do." He said, grinning evilly.

The Guardians continued searching well into high noon. But so far, they hadn't found a single trace of the Boogeyman. Disappointed, they went back to the Palace of Beginnings. Only Sapphire hadn't returned.

"We didn't find anything." Layla reported.

"No Pitch, no Nightmares, no last gem and no Pedestal of Beginnings." Marina chimed in.

Jack looked around for Sapphire.

"Sapphire hasn't come back yet?" he asked. "She's probably doing a thorough search, mate." Bunny told him reassuringly. "He's got a point. After all, Florida's Sapphire's turf." Tooth agreed with the Guardian of Hope.

Jack still looked pretty worried. Sandy gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she's fine, Jack. Don't worry." North reassured him.

Finally, Jack calmed down and nodded.

"In the meantime, we have to find the sixth gem _and _the Pedestal of Beginnings right away. We'll all have to fan out and search." Father Time said urgently. "We also have to find them both before tomorrow night." Mother Nature added.

Suddenly…_**BOOM!**_

The floor suddenly shook, startling the Guardians.

Something was going on under the Palace!

"The Vault of Secrets!" Millennium hooted in alarm.

Quickly, the group rushed out of the throne room where the Whiskered Screech guided them down a flight of stairs.

"What's so important about the Vault of Secrets?" Layla asked. "It's where we store relics from the battles during the Dark Ages. When we took the evil relics from Pitch and his Nightmares, Manny instructed us to house them in a secure vault to keep their evil magic from getting out. It's supposed to be impervious to any kind of physical or magical attacks." Father Time managed to explain before they reached the Vault.

To their shock, the vault's doors had been blasted open. Bits of wood and metal covered in black sand littered the floor, which was suspiciously wet. The Guardians then spotted a black-cloaked figure sneaking out of an escape hole.

"A thief!" Bunny shouted, readying to throw his boomerangs.

Suddenly Nightmares flew out of the hole and spilled into the room!

"We'll hold them off!" Father Time told the Guardians. "Just find that thief and get back whatever he's stolen!" Mother Nature cried. "And hurry! He's probably working for Pitch!" Millennium barked frantically.

"We'll go outside the Palace and cut him off!" North shouted, hustling the Guardians out while the trio furiously battled the Nightmares.

The group hurried out of the Palace in time to see the thief create a portal and escaped. Marina and Layla quickly opened up another one and the Guardians went in.

'_Sapphire, where are you?!_' Jack thought worriedly. Where could the young girl be at a time like this?!

Jamie and Sophie were playing with their friends in their withered backyard. Then Sophie shouted, "Hi Donnie!" and waved as the little five year old who came in with his parents.

"Jamie, I told them but they wouldn't believe me. _Please _back me up here!" Donnie pleaded.

Jamie and his friends looked confused.

"The festival yesterday! Before the Nightmares attacked, we saw them remember?!" Donnie said exasperatedly. "You mean Sapphire and Layla?" Cupcake asked him.

Donnie nodded and looked at his parents.

"Don, you already know what happened to Layla before. And as for Sapphire, it's time to move on…" his mom sighed.

"Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Aquamarie…There's something we need to tell you." Jamie approached them apprehensively.

The two adults looked at the ten year old quizzically.

"It might sound a little crazy…" Claude began.

"But what we're about to tell you is the full…" Caleb added.

"..honest…" Cupcake picked up where the twin brothers left off.

"…to goodness…" Monty followed.

"…total…" Pippa said before Sophie finished with, "…_truth._"

Donnie's parents looked quite surprised but then, Donnie pleaded. "Mom, Dad…All I'm asking is that you two please…_listen._"

Sighing, Mr. and Mrs. Aquamarie decided to sit down and listen.

"Okay…Here's the thing…" With that, Jamie began to tell them.

"Hurry! After him!" Jack yelled as they chased the thief riding a Nightmare in the sky.

The sleigh and Marina sped up to keep up the pace. But the thief was faster, smarter and trickier. The Nightmare zigzagged, confusing the Guardians at every turn. It was almost sundown when they caught up with the thief in Florida. The thief momentarily disappeared from their view before reappearing-holding the Scepter of Creation.

"He's got the Scepter…" Tooth said in shock and Baby Tooth gasped.

Jack's anger flared up.

Whoever he was, he must've done something to Sapphire.

"I'll handle this." He said, catching a breeze and flying after the thief.

The thief looked behind his shoulder in time to see the winter spirit headed towards him. Determined to catch the thief, Jack chased him until he finally cornered the cloaked thief on the very same cliff where Sapphire had shoved him off for his swimming lessons. The Guardian of Fun fired frost at the thief. It caught the thief's Nightmare, freezing it and sending its rider to the ground and the Scepter fell out of his hand. Jack dove for the Scepter of Creations but the thief quickly retrieved it. That's when Jack saw that the thief also had a wooden chest.

'_So that's what was stolen…_' Jack thought.

"Give those back!" he shouted as he chased the thief around the cliff.

The cloaked figure managed to evade the winter spirit's grasp until they both reached the very edge.

"_I said give it!_" Jack yelled, grabbing the thief's hood as the others arrived on the scene.

No sooner had Jack pulled the thief's hood off, a collective gasp came from Marina, Baby Tooth, Layla, North, Bunny and Tooth.

Sandy covered his mouth in horror.

Jack on the other hand, just stood there, his mouth dropping open in utter disbelief.

It was…

"_Sapphire…is alive?!_" Donnie's parents said in shock. "Well in some way, yeah. But now she's a Guardian." Jamie explained.

"A Guardian?" Donnie's mom asked confused. "A Guardian is someone whose job is to protect an important aspect of childhood." Pippa explained.

"We don't really know what Sapphire represents, but we're sure she's doing a great job." Cupcake said brightly. "And you kids are saying that Layla's also alive?" Donnie's dad asked. "Technically Dad, I think she's a nymph now." Donnie piped up.

His parents looked at each other, completely confused.

"It's a lot to take in, we know." Monty told them.

"Donnie, I think you should let your parents sleep on it." Caleb suggested to the five year old. "Let's play later!" Sophie giggled. "Meet us at the park!" Claude shouted as Donnie led his parents away.

"So Mom, Dad…do you believe me now?" Donnie asked timidly.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Aquamarie looked dazed.

"It's a lot to take in sweetie…but we believe you." Donnie's mother finally said. "THANK YOU!" the five year old shrieked in relief.

"But this fight with the Boogeyman is kind of worrying…Are you sure Sapphire's alright?" his father asked him. "No worries, Dad. Sapphire's a great fighter. And chances of her losing to Pitch Black-completely impossible." Donnie smiled reassuringly.

Well Donnie was right about one thing.

His big sister never lost to Pitch, she _joined _him.

So many emotions were running through Jack when he saw Sapphire. But what the winter spirit really felt was complete, utter _shock_.

"Don't come any closer. I'm warning you." Sapphire threatened him.

That's when Jack saw Pitch appear behind her.

"Good work, _my apprentice._" The Boogeyman snickered, taking the Scepter and chest from her.

Furious, Jack attempted to attack but Sapphire blocked his ice blast with water.

"_What _are you _doing?!_" Bunny yelled at her, enraged.

Sapphire refused to meet the Guardians' gaze.

"She's joined me as my apprentice. Together, we will cover the world in darkness and fear." Pitch cackled.

"Sapphire are you nuts?! He's our greatest enemy!" Tooth cried out. "No! He's _your _greatest enemy! I'm not even a Guardian." Sapphire shot back.

"Even though you haven't taken the Oath, you already _are _one!" North tried to reason with the young girl. Sandy tried to emphasize the Guardian of Wonder's point but Sapphire sharply cut him off. "Can it, Sandy!"

Marina looked at her rider in shock. "Saph, why are you doing this?" she asked her worriedly. Sapphire heaved a sigh. "You guys never needed me…That's why." She said darkly before turning around to join Pitch and his Nightmare Onyx.

"No! Sapphire, wait!" Jack yelped, going after her as she floated up into the air on a stream of nightmare sand.

Sapphire spun around to face him. She never belonged with the Guardians. And she certainly didn't ask to become one of them. Heck, she bet they never needed her in the first place!

"Just forget it! You guys never needed me anyway!" she yelled at Jack.

"That's not true!" the Guardian of Fun protested.

"Oh really?! Who among you guys could _possibly _need _me?!_" Sapphire shouted, turning away.

Suddenly Jack grabbed her hand.

"_I do…_" he whispered, meaning every bit of it.

With all his heart and soul he needed her.

He _loved _her.

Sapphire could hardly believe her ears. Jack had just confessed that he loved her! He really did! But then Pitch looked at her disapprovingly and shook his head. Sapphire knew what she had to do.

'…_I'm sorry, Jack…_' she thought guiltily before wrenching her hand out of Jack's grip and gave him a slap on the cheek, _hard. _Jack reeled away from her, stunned.

"Stay away from me." Sapphire said coldly as she got behind Pitch on Onyx.

Layla frantically flew up.

"Saph, please! _Stop this!_" she begged.

Sapphire looked back at her little sister whose blue-green eyes were shining with tears.

'_This is the only way…The only way to protect her._' She thought heavily.

Her face darkened.

"…_**Make me**__._ She said before she and Pitch unleashed a combo attack of both water and black sand.

Tooth quickly grabbed Jack and Layla out from the open and pulled them to the ground as Sandy put up a protective shield of dream sand. But as soon as the danger had passed, Sapphire, Pitch and Onyx were already gone.

"Saph…No…" Layla whimpered and burst into tears as Marina, Tooth and Baby Tooth tried to comfort her.

Bunny, North and Sandy glanced at Jack, who was just standing there, his eyes staring straight ahead.

"We need to report this to Mother Nature & Father Time _immediately._" North said grimly. The others nodded in agreement. Layla just sniffled.

Jack on the other hand, remained shell-shocked the entire ride back to the Palace of Beginnings.

**Dundunduuuunnnn! And the story takes a terrifying twist!**

**Read and review at your wanting!**

**DragonGuardian98 signing out!**


	16. Chapter 16

**GuardianDragon98 here with Chapter 16 of ROTG 2!**

**What will the Guardians do now that Sapphire's gone to the dark side?**

**Did Sapphire really make the right choice?**

**And how will this affect her relationship with Jack now that our favorite winter spirit has finally told her that he loves her?**

**Those questions…may be answered in this chapter!  
Once again, I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians and DreamWorks Animation has all the rights.**

**Chapter 16**

Pitch guided Onyx to a hole in the earth, entering his lair.

"Welcome to your new home." He said, grandly gesturing to Sapphire their surroundings.

The young girl looked around.

For her, the place was dark, gloomy and she hated it.

"…Nice place you got here…" she said hollowly.

She was still thinking about her recent betrayal.

'_What have I done?!_' she thought miserably.

Pitch looked at her and as if he had read her mind, scowled.

"Those Guardians only filled your pretty little head with lies. Especially that Frost." He scoffed. "But…I thought Jack liked me…" Sapphire said in a small voice, looking at Pitch.

"Oh come off it, girl. He was only playing you. They all felt threatened by your power so they just pretended to like you. Understand?" Pitch said, rolling his eyes.

Not wanting to argue, Sapphire sighed.

"I…Yeah I get it." she mumbled. "Good. Your room's over there. Make yourself comfortable because tomorrow…there's work to be done." Pitch smiled as a black door appeared on one wall.

Sapphire nodded and began to leave.

"Oh, hold it. Scepter, please?" Pitch ordered.

Feeling slightly suspicious, Sapphire handed the Lord of Nightmares the Scepter of Creations. Pitch mounted it next to his black throne.

'_At least he hasn't thought of destroying it._' Sapphire thought, relieved as she went to her room which was as dark and gloomy as the rest of Pitch's lair.

At least there was a view of the sky above…

"She did _what?!_" Millennium hooted in shock.

Even Mother Nature and Father Time were shocked.

"It's hard to believe, but she did it." North said gravely.

"That little traitor done turned against us and _gave _the Scepter and whatever she stole to Pitch." Bunny added in a disdainful tone.

"But why would she do it?" Mother Nature asked.

Sandy formed a few sand images over his head.

"Translation, Sandman?" Father Time inquired.

"He's saying that maybe Pitch blackmailed her." Tooth said. "Or maybe even _brainwashed _her." Marina piped up.

Bunny shook his head, furious.

"Nuh-uh. No way any of those things happened. She _betrayed _us!" he snorted.

"How do you know they didn't happen?" Layla asked timidly.

She was still so shocked over her sister's actions, her voice shook as she got the words out.

"You saw her face, kid! She meant every word of her betrayal. That traitorous traitor turned to the dark side!" Bunny exclaimed, ignoring the fact that he had broken his clever t-chain by two words.

The other Guardians didn't say anything but they all seemed to agree.

"May-Maybe we should find Sapphire and ask her to tell us the truth? And…maybe she'll come back…" Layla said softly.

"Can't you see the signs, Layla? That girl, your _big sister_, is now one of Pitch's cronies. She's no more than just one of his Nightmares now!" Bunny exclaimed before a blast of ice hit him in the head.

And the source was a crooked wooden staff held in Jack's hand.

"_Jack!_" North shouted in shock, turning to the winter Guardian who was glaring daggers at the rabbit.

"Quit saying that about Sapphire! I don't know if you guys still believe in her but _I _do!" he shouted angrily.

Woozily shaking his head, Bunny shook off the ice in his fur and glared at the winter spirit.

"How do you know she'll come back? She _told _you herself to stay away. Just face it, Jack. Your little Juliet is a traitor and she's never coming back." He snapped.

"_No. She's. Not! _She's not a traitor and she will come back! _She will! She will! She will...I know she will…_" Jack yelled before running out of the throne room.

Outside the Palace of Beginnings, he caught a breeze and flew up into the air.

Sapphire looked up at the moon and noticed that Manny had a sad look on his face.

"Quit making me feel guilty, Manny. It's hurting me on the inside." She frowned before she heard excited neighs outside her door.

Tentatively, she peered into the keyhole.

She saw Pitch conversing with his Nightmares.

"As soon as the lunar eclipse will occur, fan out to every corner of the world and plunge everything into darkness and turn time upside-down to throw everyone into chaos. A few of you will accompany to the Palace of Beginnings to capture all of the Guardians. We'll bring them back here…and starting with Mother Nature and Father Time…_we shall __kill __every last one of them._" The Nightmare King laughed darkly as his Nightmares snorted excitedly.

Sapphire on the other hand, covered her mouth so as not to gasp in horror.

_This _was Pitch's plan all along?!

Spread fear and darkness all over the world before _eliminating the Guardians?!_

How dastardly can you get?!

"We'll save the boy for last…And finally, we will _rule!_" Pitch said triumphantly over the neighing of his Nightmares.

Terrified, Sapphire went to her bed and sat down to try calm herself down. Her face paled and her throat felt like cotton as she took deep breaths, hoping that she wasn't going to freak herself out as she imagined how Pitch was going to kill her friends.

And she knew perfectly well who _the boy _was…

Jack…

Her hands started shaking so she shoved them into her coat pockets and then she felt something in both of them.

Pulling the things out, Sapphire saw the drawing of Jack she had made in her right hand and a white box in her left.

When she opened the box, Sapphire's eyes widened as she took out from it a beautifully crafted necklace made out of ice. Admiring the beauty of the snowflake designs, Sapphire looked at the drawing in her right and turned the paper over.

That's when she saw the drawing of herself and realized where the gifts had come from.

Suddenly moonlight shone on the necklace and it began to glow. Curious, Sapphire decided to take a closer look at the largest snowflake in the necklace…

What she saw…broke her heart.

Jack was sitting on the edge of the same cliff where Sapphire had left him, his icy blue eyes staring far out into the ocean. A flutter of wings caught his attention and he turned around to see Layla looking at him solemnly.

"The others are gonna be here soon. They're worried about you." She said quietly. Nodding slightly, Jack resumed looking out into the horizon.

"I'm siding with you on this one, Jack. I know Sapphire and I know she would never turn to the dark side-_ever._" Layla said as-a-matter-of-factly. Jack nodded again but didn't look at her.

"I'm gonna see if I can find her." Layla said, opening her wings.

The little nymph flew off, leaving Jack alone.

The Guardian of Fun looked up at the night sky, the stars twinkling and the moon shining.

'_Why, Sapphire? Why…?'_ he thought, his eyes filling with tears.

As much as he believed Sapphire would come back, he still couldn't handle the horrible feeling in his chest when Sapphire said to him some of the most horrible words he'd ever heard.

'_Stay away from me._'

That exact moment kept replaying in Jack's head.

The way Sapphire's face looked…her eyes dark and cold and full of hatred…it hurt him on the inside so much. Like his heart had been ripped apart to shreds.

That's how heartbreak felt like and now…Jack was experiencing it firsthand.

And it was horrible.

"Sapphire, please come back…_Please…_" Jack whispered to the wind before a tiny, barely audible sob came out and the tears started to flow, turning into ice droplets as they slid down Jack's face and fell to the ocean.

Sapphire blinked back the tears in her eyes.

She'd seen everything through the necklace.

She had broken poor Jack's heart.

Sapphire felt like the most horrible girl in the world.

"Manny…What do I do now?" she whispered up to the heavens.

The moon glowed brightly as a voice whispered, '_Be strong, my child. Be strong._'

Nodding, Sapphire stood up and walked to the door, cautiously opening it. Lucky for her, Pitch and his horses were gone. Quickly running over to Pitch's throne, Sapphire yanked the Scepter of Creations out of its mount.

But the instant she pulled it out, Nightmares flew out of the shadows followed by Pitch!

"What's going on here?!" Pitch snarled upon seeing the young girl holding the Scepter.

Noticing some torches on the walls, Sapphire thought fast and blasted jets of water at them and created a steam cover.

"Get back here you double-crosser!" Pitch's voice yelled out through the haze.

But Sapphire had already left the lair in a flash.

She had to go warn the Guardians fast…and apologize-especially to Jack…

The sun was rising and Jack hadn't moved an inch from his spot at all.

"For crying out loud mate, just forget about her already!" Bunny whined before Sandy elbowed him in the ribs while giving him a death glare.

Right now, the Guardian of Hope was just making things worse.

North and Tooth just looked at each other worriedly.

Layla and Marina sat next to Jack, trying to get the winter spirit to well…do something.

But the boy just sighed. He was absolutely depressed.

"Poor Jack…Losing Sapphire must've really hurt." Tooth whispered.

"If you fall so hard, it must hurt twice as much." North said, sadly shaking his head.

"Would you guys just shut up and leave me alone?" Jack said in a tired voice.

He was already experiencing heartbreak. They didn't have to rub it in!

Suddenly a familiar voice rang out…

"North! Tooth! Bunny! Sandy! Layla! Marina! _JACK!_"

The Guardians looked at each other, confused.

Then Marina craned her neck out into the ocean and Layla caught sight of a familiar face.

"Saph…? Sapphire! _Sapphire!_" she cried out, fluttering her wings excitedly as her older sister came into view.

Sapphire saw them as she came in for a landing and sighed with relief. It wasn't easy but she had found them.

Landing quickly, she took a deep breath. "Look I'm sorry about everything. I let Pitch trick me and _I'm sorry._" She blurted out.

The others looked a little overwhelmed with her direct apology but Tooth readily came forward.

"Oh Saph, it's okay. We…" she managed to say before Sapphire cut in.

"You can accept my apology later. Right now, you guys gotta run." She said urgently. "Run?" her sister asked, confused.

Sapphire nodded quickly. "Yeah, run. Get away from here! Go back to the Palace, warn Mother Nature, Father Time & Millennium and just run! _Pronto!_" she said hurriedly.

"Warn them about what?" North chimed in.

"About Pitch. He's after them. He's after all of you!" the girl explained before Bunny stepped in.

"Why should we believe _you?_" he asked suspiciously.

Sandy formed sand images of all of them in a cage over his head.

"Uh…in case you didn't hear, Bunnymund we're gonna be in danger if Pitch catches us!" Marina said, exasperatedly flapping her wings.

But Bunny wasn't finished.

"First you turn over to the dark side and _now _you come back and expect us to trust you?! Give me _one _good reason why we _should _trust you!" he glared at Sapphire, who seemed kind of shocked and nervous at the same time.

'_Well he's got the whole right to be mad…I'm the one who caused this mess in the first place…_' she thought, briefly glancing at Jack.

His eyes were full of hurt and confusion as he tried to see if she was telling the truth. The winter spirit felt so lost and confused.

Could he still trust Sapphire? He wasn't so sure what to believe anymore…

Sapphire felt like her heart was cracking as she and the winter Guardian looked into each other's eyes, trying to find something that could get them to trust each other again.

They might not ever forgive her, but Sapphire had to do what she can to protect them.

There was no way she was going to let Pitch kill the Guardians.

Not on her watch.

"I…Because I came back here. I went looking for all of you. And the last thing I want is to let Pitch hurt you guys. So can you…Can you guys just trust me? Even for just this once. _Please?_" she pleaded, begged even, her ocean blue eyes filled with remorse and regret.

For a few moments, the Guardians remained silent.

Sapphire looked down on the ground, feeling horribly guilty. She had betrayed them all and broken their trust.

They'll never forgive her now.

She caught Jack's eye and mouthed to him, '_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…I…I love you too…_'

Jack felt his heart race again.

Sapphire looked so sad and full of regret. And…she just said she loved him too!

His broken heart suddenly became whole again.

Jack stepped forward and Sapphire looked up at him hopefully.

"…_I trust you…_" he said with full certainty.

"Really…?" the young girl asked him in surprise.

After she had broken his heart, he was willing to forgive her?

Jack gently took her free hand in his.

"I'll _always _trust you." Jack smiled at her, his icy blue eyes shining.

Sapphire smiled as well. Her smile broadened when the other Guardians nodded their assent, even Bunny.

"Welcome back, sis." Layla gave her a hug which she gratefully returned.

"How touching." A dark voice suddenly said as black sand swirled around in the air.

Startled, Sapphire spun around to see Pitch glaring at her. Quickly, Jack stepped between her and Pitch and the Guardians prepared to attack.

"Don't even think about it." Pitch said coolly as some Nightmares came, dragging a giant black cage.

The Guardians gasped as they saw Mother Nature and Father Time in there, in chains along with Millennium.

"Run away! Run away!" Millennium screeched to them in a panic. A Nightmare snorted furiously in the Whiskered Screech's face.

"Let them go!" Marina shouted angrily before she charged at Pitch. But to her shock, Pitch sidestepped her and streams of black sand suddenly grabbed her and flung her into the cage!

"Marina!" Layla shrieked, furiously sending out a vine to ensnare Pitch.

"Pathetic!" the Boogeyman said in a singsong voice, touching the vine which withered and crumbled into black dust.

"You plant murderer!" Mother Nature cried out.

That's when the Guardians decided to attack and so did the Nightmares.

Furiously, they slashed, punched, kicked and charged at each other.

A little while into the battle, things began to turn bleak for the Guardians.

First Layla then Sandy followed by Tooth, Baby Tooth, Bunny and next, North. They were all thrown into the cage.

Now it was just Jack and Sapphire fighting.

Valiantly, the two teens fought the Nightmares blasting them with ice and water. Then as a team, they whirled around in a flurry of blue and white shooting out jets of water and streams of ice like a crazed storm. The Nightmares were no match for them and they dissolved into black sand.

Sapphire and Jack stopped spinning and looked at each other, smiling.

But their victory was short-lived as a stream of black sand grabbed Sapphire from behind and pulled her to Pitch, who grabbed her by the throat.

"No!" Jack yelled.

But when the boy took just one step towards her, Pitch tightened his grip on Sapphire's throat. The young girl gasped sharply, wildly kicking and flailing as Pitch continued to choke her.

"I'm giving you one chance, Jack. Either you surrender quietly or your girlfriend dies." Pitch threatened the Guardian of Fun.

Jack worriedly looked at Sapphire. The young girl shook her head weakly, her face turning blue.

'_No Jack…No…Don't…_' she thought as the winter spirit heaved a pained sigh and lowered his staff.

It was either him or her.

And Jack didn't want anything else bad to happen to Sapphire.

"Good. Very good." Pitch smiled smugly, releasing Sapphire who fell to the ground gasping for air.

Before Jack could get to her, Pitch suddenly laughed, "Just one small fact about life, Frost-Never trust a Boogeyman!" Pitch then used his nightmare sand to grab Sapphire by the waist as Jack was also ensnared by tendrils of black sand and flung into the cage!

"_Jack!_" Sapphire screamed.

"Sapphire!" Jack yelled as the Nightmares began to pull the cage away.

Then to his horror, Pitch flung Sapphire towards the rocks at the beach down below!

"**SAPPHIRE!**"

Jack's scream was the last thing the young girl heard before everything went black…

Donnie was playing with Jamie and his friends that afternoon in the town square. Suddenly, the already dark sky turned darker.

"I think we're going to have a storm…" Jamie said.

"Is the sky supposed to look like _that?_" Pippa asked, seeing the sky turn pitch black.

Then a loud rumble echoed out into the sky.

"Oh no…" Caleb & Claude both mumbled.

All of a sudden, _black _lightning bolts began striking the trees!

"Ahhhhh!" Monty and Sophie screamed.

"He's back! Pitch is back!" Cupcake shouted when the kids saw a huge black bolt headed for them!

"Run for it guys!" Donnie hollered.

Quickly the kids scrambled just in time before the lightning bolt exploded on the town square.

In an instant, the town's remaining greenery withered and died.

As the townspeople ran for cover, the kids looked around and looked at each other worriedly.

As if things hadn't gotten worse already…

"I have a very, very, _very _bad feeling about this…" Donnie said worriedly.

Jamie looked equally worried.

"I just hope the Guardians are okay…" he mumbled.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 is here **

**And this story just needs three more chapters! I can't believe it's almost done **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 17**

All over the world, plants withered, time went out of control and the sky darkened. The adults could not fathom what was going on. Nor could they hear the strange whispers the children heard which made them scared.

'_Soon…Fear shall reign once more…_'

"Mom, Dad!" Donnie burst into his parents' room, crying.

His mother immediately pulled him into her lap. Their little boy had been freaking out the past few hours ever since the black lightning incident at town. On top of that, he kept telling them he was hearing scary whispers along with Jamie and the other kids in town.

"It's okay, Don…You were just having a nightmare, sweetie." Mrs. Aquamarie soothed the five year-old until he fell asleep.

Letting Donnie sleep between the two of them, his parents looked at each other worriedly.

"Honey, I'm afraid. All of this darkness and fear could have something to do with the enemy Sapphire's fighting." Donnie's mother whispered, worriedly glancing at her daughter's picture. Her husband sighed. "I know. I'm worried about her too. But we have to believe in Sapphire she can stop the enemy-along with the Guardians." He said softly.

Both parents went back to sleep, praying that somehow, Sapphire and Layla as well would be okay…

The Guardians watched helplessly from their cages as the dark form of the sun began to move towards the full moon. The Nightmares began to neigh loudly and stomp their hooves excitedly, already getting stronger.

"It's almost time. Time for a new Dark Age to begin." Pitch laughed cruelly.

While North, Tooth, Baby Tooth, Bunny and Sandy looked at each other worriedly and Mother Nature, Father Time, Millennium, Marina and Layla huddled together in fear, Jack would not give up. He flung himself against the cage he was in several times, determined to escape. He pounded on the locked door with his fists and kicked the door, relentlessly trying to break it open.

After several tries Jack sank to the floor panting, his whole body aching from exhaustion.

"Honestly Jack, you just don't know how to accept your fate now, don't you?" Pitch asked him, smiling coldly as he went to the winter spirit's cage.

Jack stood up and glared at the dark man. "We've beaten you once, we can beat you again." He said, his eyes flashing in anger. Pitch laughed. "Oh really? With all of you trapped in here, who else will save you? Certainly not that weak, pathetic excuse of a girl."

Jack suddenly lost it and flung himself at the cage door, his teeth gritted into a snarl. "You take that back! Sapphire will come! She'll free us and we'll get rid of you once & for all!" Jack shouted angrily.

Pitch focused his dark gold eyes in a glare at the winter Guardian. "Your little girlfriend is as good as dead, boy. And even if she is _still _alive, what makes you think she'll still come to rescue you? She turned against you once, she can do it again." He said coldly before leaving.

Jack looked at his fellow Guardians. They too, were beginning to doubt their chances of rescue.

The moon was almost half-blocked as Jack took out the seashell Sapphire gave him in Florida yesterday.

But yesterday seemed so long ago…

Jack sat on the floor of his cage, the shell cupped in his hands. Pitch's words cut him like a knife. The thought of Sapphire being dead…or even worse, abandoning them again. It was just too scary for Jack to even think about.

More than anything, he wished she was here.

He needed Sapphire more than anything now.

"Sapphire…Please…_Help me…_" Jack whispered, a small tear sliding down his pale face.

Sapphire gasped and lifted her head out of the water. It must've been high tide since she was all wet. Shivering a bit, the young girl looked up at the sky. It was already night time-and the eclipse was happening.

Panic overcame Sapphire as she realized that she no longer had the Scepter…and she was all alone.

"G-Guys?! North?! Bunny?! Tooth?! Baby Tooth?! Sandy?! Mother Nature?! Father Time?! Millennium?! Marina?! Sis?! _Jack?!_ Where are you?!" she yelled, frantically looking around.

Sapphire soon sank to her knees when she realized she was all alone.

"What have I done…? What have I done?" she sobbed out.

This whole mess, this whole crazy, awful crisis was all because of her.

'_I'm so sorry guys…This is all my fault…_' she thought as she continued to cry.

"I've failed you, Manny…I've failed all of you…" Sapphire sobbed, looking at the half-covered moon before burying her face in her hands.

Suddenly she felt something gently touch her shoulder. She looked up from her hands to see golden dream sand swirling about her.

"Sandy…? _Sandy, you escaped! _Sandy!" Sapphire said, excitedly looking around.

Then to her surprise, a golden woman appeared right in front of her.

"You're…_not_…Sandy." She mumbled in surprise.

The Woman slightly laughed.

"I've noticed." She said, smiling.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow.

"Are you related to him?" she asked, seeing that She also wore clothes made out of dream sand. The Woman smiled enigmatically.

"Maybe I am; maybe I'm not. Either way, the Man in the Moon sent me here to help you." Sapphire looked up at Her hopefully. "You're here to help me fight Pitch?" she asked.

The Woman smiled gently at her. "No but I'm here to help you find your center. And if you find your center, you'll be able to fight fear." She said.

Sapphire's face fell.

"Why would I still _need _to find my center? I'm not even a Guardian…" she said sadly. "Of course you are." The Woman said encouragingly.

"No! If I'm anything, I'm a traitor. I've let everyone down. I…I can't even protect the people I care about…" Sapphire said dejectedly.

The Woman gently caressed her cheek. "That's where you're wrong, Sapphire Aquamarie. You've always been a Guardian to your family. You would do anything to keep your brother and sister safe, right?" She asked her.

Sapphire thought about it. Now that She mentioned it, she had always been Layla and Donnie's Guardian. She did whatever she could to protect them.

But then she remembered something-the accident.

"Well yeah…But…I couldn't save my sister from drowning…" she said gloomily. "But she's here now and she's accompanied you on this entire quest, right?" The Woman asked.

Sapphire nodded.

"And even though you are a water spirit and your family can't see you anymore, that doesn't mean you're alone. You've made so many friends now, right?" The Woman asked her again.

Sapphire nodded again before giving The Woman a confused and slightly frustrated look. "Wait. How is this related to finding my center?" she asked.

The Woman smiled.

"Let's try once again, shall we? One plus one equals?" she asked coyly.

"Two." Sapphire answered

"If we divide the two between two people, what will they get?" The Woman questioned her.

"They each get a one. An equal share…" Sapphire replied.

"Good! Here's another one. If you were in school and you had to take a test that only had true or false questions, what do you get from it?" The Woman asked yet again.

Sapphire looked at her curiously and thought hard.

"An equal chance of getting a right answer & an equal chance of getting a wrong answer… Fifty percent right…Fifty percent wrong…An…equal…chance…"

That's when Sapphire Aquamarie finally got it.

"E…_Equality. _My center's…_equality?_" she said, slowly looking up at Her.

And She smiled.

"Why equality?" Sapphire asked. "Because in life, we'll all experience our fair share of both the good and bad times. At some times, bad things will happen no matter how hard we try to avoid them. But we shouldn't forever dwell on those things because for every bad thing that happens, good things will happen. The same that for darkness, there will always be light. Children sometimes forget that their lives should be balanced. It shouldn't always be easy and it shouldn't always be hard. It's your job to help them remember that. You understand?" The Woman said gently.

Sapphire let the whole explanation and realization sink in before she nodded. "Yeah…I…I finally get it." She said, smiling at last.

But then her smile quickly faded when she remembered something.

She looked at The Woman apprehensively. Maybe She could help her with her dilemma…

"So if my center's equality…Does that apply to…romantic situations?" the young girl asked shyly. The Woman cocked her head quizzically. "What kind of romantic situations?" She asked.

Sapphire carefully chose her words before letting them out.

"Does it mean that if I liked someone…Is it a 50-50 percent chance that he'll…like me back?"

The Woman put a finger to her temple, thinking. "That's a pretty good question…" She said thoughtfully.

Then She smiled and gently laid a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "But I didn't say that _everything _in life has to be 50-50. You can turn the tides to your favor by making the first move, just so you know." She said in a kind, motherly tone.

Sapphire was surprised. "You can do that?" she asked to which The Woman nodded.

"Of course! Before actually, I met someone very near and dear to my heart. Oh…He was a nice fellow but he was just too shy to tell me that he loved me. So…I made the first move and told him that I loved him too. You've already told Jack that you loved him too, didn't you Sapphire? Now all you have to do…_is follow your heart._" She advised.

Sapphire nodded understandingly. "Yeah…" she said before she suddenly looked at The Woman, confused.

"Whoa there. How'd you know I have a crush on Jack?" she asked suspiciously.

The Woman chuckled. "I just had a feeling that you liked him. Call it intuition." She said primly.

"Oh…" Sapphire said and looked up at the moon. It was almost covered.

"Oh man…How am I gonna find the others? I'm _miles _away from them…" she groaned.

The Woman smiled and clapped her hands.

A stream of dream sand instantly surrounded Sapphire and lifted her off the ground. Then a star streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of stardust in its wake.

"Just follow the star and you'll get where you need to go." The Woman told Sapphire.

Sapphire smiled and managed to lower herself down a bit to give Her a hug. "Thank you so much…" she whispered.

The Woman hugged her gently. "Don't mention it my dear. Just remember…" She said before looking squarely at Sapphire in the eye.

"When things seem bleak, remember to not just believe in others but also in _yourself._ If you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Promise me you will never forget that."

Sapphire nodded vigorously at Her. "I promise." She swore before she lifted off into the air.

Turning around, Sapphire prepared to leave.

Suddenly realization hit her.

"Oh yeah! I think I know who you are now! You're Sandy's w-…" she said as she turned around again…

Only to find that She was gone…

Only a faint stream of dream sand remained.

A little confused, Sapphire just stared at the spot where She had stood.

Then her charm began to glow, bringing her back to the present.

Taking a deep breath, Sapphire turned back and began to fly, following the star home.

'_Believe in myself…Hold on guys! I'm coming!_' she thought.

Sapphire soon arrived at Pitch's lair. Carefully entering the hole, the young girl unsheathed her dagger, steeled her courage and crept her way along the tunnel. Soon Sapphire made it into the interior cavern. She could see the Scepter of Creation mounted once more near Pitch's throne along with a couple of weapons. North's swords, Bunny's boomerangs and Jack's staff.

Then she heard Layla and Marina scream at Pitch right in his face.

"What did you do that for?!" the Boogeyman yelled. "Oh nothing." Marina replied, sarcastically smiling. "We just hate you." Layla added, smiling innocently much to Pitch's displeasure and Sapphire's amusement. Leave it to those two to pull off some stunt even in the face of danger.

But her amusement turned into horror when Pitch opened their cage and Nightmares dragged them out.

"Since you two hate me so much, I'll get rid of you two first then!" Pitch growled as one large Nightmare prepared to charge at the duo.

Quickly, Sapphire snuck along the edges to the side of Pitch's throne where the Guardians' weapons were.

Sapphire had to act fast.

North's swords? They were too heavy for her to even lift.

Bunny's boomerangs? Her aim was kind of lousy.

Then she picked up Jack's staff.

'_I know you only work for Jack. But please just this once…Work for me!_' she thought desperately as Layla and Marina screamed, black chains materializing around them.

The Guardians could only watch helplessly as Pitch bellowed one command.

"_Attack!_"

The Nightmare charged!

Hoping for the best, Sapphire aimed at it and thrust the wooden staff out. Frost instantly shot out of it and hit the Nightmare spot on!

Pitch only had a second to mutter, "What on…?" before a blast of water hit him from behind, knocking him out for a few seconds.

Just enough time for Sapphire to get to her sister and Marina, break their chains and using Jack's staff, flew up to her friends and freed them from their cages.

Opening Jack's cage last, she gave the winter spirit his wooden shepherd's crook.

"I thought you would like this back." She said with a smile.

To her surprise, Jack hugged her.

"I knew you'd come back." He whispered. Sapphire smiled as they let go.

"Look about what happened before…Again I'm…" she mumbled before she felt a paw pat her on the shoulder. "Apology accepted, mate." Bunny grinned at her.

That's when Pitch got to his feet and saw the black moon.

"Ha! You're too late!" he laughed.

The Nightmares neighed loudly, already stronger.

Tooth quickly flew over to retrieve the other Guardians' weapons.

"We'll handle them! Get the Scepter!" North yelled as he, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, Mother Nature, Father Time, Millennium, Baby Tooth and Marina launched attacks on Pitch's dark brigade.

Quickly, Jack, Sapphire and Layla flew over the battleground and landed near the Scepter. Layla pulled it out of the mount.

"We're _still _missing the last gem." Sapphire pointed out, not noticing that her charm (_which had been_ _glowing the whole time_) was glowing brighter until the blue light was almost blinding.

Jack looked at it and looked at the Scepter.

All five gems were glowing now too.

"Wait a minute…Sapphire, take the charm out of your necklace!" he said quickly. Sapphire looked at her necklace, seeing why Jack was getting excited.

"Saph…You don't think…" Layla breathed, eyes wide. "Only one way to find out…" her sister said, carefully unhooking the teardrop shaped sapphire from the pearl necklace.

Removing the metal hook, Sapphire cautiously held up the gem near the Scepter.

Suddenly a teardrop shaped notch appeared in the very center of the Scepter and her necklace charm lodged itself in it!

All six gems began to glow furiously bright…

Then the whole Scepter glowed.

A big flash of light blasted out of it, illuminating the dark cavern.

When everyone could see clearly, the first thing they saw was the Scepter of Creation.

Platinum swirls were surrounding its head and the handle was now glowing. The symbol of the Guardians appeared on the sapphire and the whole thing glowed in Sapphire's hands.

Sapphire blinked once and looked at her sister and Jack.

"I can't believe this…The last gem…" she mumbled.

"…was with you the whole time." Jack finished for her.

Suddenly another flash of light appeared at the far side of Pitch's lair where the eclipsed moon was directly above through a small hole in the wall of the cavern.

A gold and white pedestal appeared.

"And the Pedestal of Beginnings was in enemy territory?" Layla said in shock.

But now their mission was almost complete.

Pitch quickly changed commands.

"Get that Scepter & destroy it!" he yelled.

Now the Nightmares switched their attention to Sapphire, Jack and Layla.

"Back off and pick on somebody your own size!" Layla cried out, launching vines at the advancing Nightmares.

Then the Guardians attacked the ones nearing the trio.

"We'll handle them, mates!" Bunny hollered as he and Layla tossed boomerangs and sharp leaves. "You two get that Scepter to the Pedestal!" North commanded to the two teens.

Nodding, Jack and Sapphire began to race to the Pedestal of Beginnings.

**Chapter 17 done! Just three more chapters!  
GuardianDragon98 signing out!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I am so sorry for making you guys wait. As a late Easter gift, I give you Chapter 18!  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 18**

It was a fierce battle.

North and Tooth used swords and wings to slash Nightmares left and right.

Bunny and Layla threw boomerangs, exploding eggs, seeds and vines.

Sandy whipped while Mother Nature used plant magic.

Father Time sent gold blasts while Millennium, Baby Tooth and Marina pecked and clawed at any Nightmare they could see.

Pitch and his Nightmare army were ruthless but the Guardians were determined.

All they had to do was keep distracting their enemies long enough for Sapphire and Jack to get to the Pedestal of Beginnings and it'll all be over.

Jack and Sapphire dodged Nightmares as they dashed towards the Pedestal. One Nightmare suddenly appeared in front of them. Quickly Sapphire held the Scepter out and a huge white magic blast shot out of its head!

"Whoa…" was all the two teens could say as it hit the Nightmare straight in the chest. They continued running, shooting water and frost at any approaching enemy.

"We're almost there!" Jack shouted as they picked up the pace.

A gorge soon became visible in front of them.

And on the other side was the Pedestal.

"_Jump!_" Sapphire yelled as they neared the edge.

Bravely, the two teens leaped across the gorge. Jack quickly swung his staff and a gust of wind propelled them to the other side.

"Yes!" the two of them cheered, high-fiving.

Then they walked up to the Pedestal of Beginnings.

The Scepter of Creation now glowing brighter than ever before.

"Let's place it together." Sapphire said, looking at Jack.

The winter spirit shook his head. "You do it. It's your mission." He politely refused.

The girl smiled a little. He did have a point.

Pitch had blocked an attack from North's swords when he saw the two teens at the Pedestal. "_No!_" he roared, using a wave of black sand to push the other Guardians back as he took out a dagger of pure black steel.

Millennium recognized it on sight.

"The Forbidden Dagger!" he screeched.

"But we had that locked up in the Vault of Secrets!" Father Time exclaimed.

Then it hit the Guardians.

That dagger was the stolen item.

"Why's it called '_Forbidden_'?" Marina asked nervously.

Mother Nature's face was pale. "Because…that dagger can kill anyone…Whether they're immortal or not…" she said uneasily.

The Guardians were shocked speechless.

Layla saw Pitch zoom towards Sapphire, the Forbidden Dagger pointed directly at her heart.

Her sister was gonna be his first target!

"No! Saph, look out!" the little nymph screamed.

That's when…_everything _happened.

It all happened so fast.

One minute, Sapphire was just about to place the Scepter on the Pedestal when she heard Layla scream. Turning around, she saw Pitch with a dagger headed straight for her!

Suddenly Jack shouted, "Sapphire!" and pushed her out of the way!

Sapphire fell on her back on the ground, stunned. After a few seconds, she managed to get up…only to find the Forbidden Dagger sticking out of Jack's chest.

"…_No_…" she whispered in horror.

She didn't hear anything but she figured that the others were just as shell shocked as she was. Pitch seemed surprise as well. Jack's breathing was ragged but he glared at the Boogeyman in defiance.

Glaring, Pitch grabbed him by the throat. "At least I can get rid of _you _first." He snarled, harshly pulling the dagger out of Jack's chest making him wince. Through his blurred vision, Jack zeroed in on the Forbidden Dagger coated with his own blood.

He only had one shot…

As Pitch raised the weapon to deliver the death stab, Jack weakly touched the tip of the dagger with his staff and froze it solid in Pitch's hand. He gave Pitch a good kick in the shin, making him drop it. The Forbidden Dagger then shattered into a million pieces.

Jack calmly smiled at Pitch's shocked look.

Enraged, Pitch used a wave of black sand to fling Jack into a wall! The winter spirit crashed into the wall hard and fell to the floor, his staff skidding a few feet away from him. Jack tried to get up but he barely had any strength left to even raise his arm before curling into a ball, gasping for air.

Pitch had officially crossed the line.

The Guardians began to fight harder, cutting a path to get to their fallen comrade while Sapphire faced Pitch.

"Well that takes care of one. You're next, girl." Pitch sneered at her.

Tears streaming down her face, Sapphire gripped her dagger and the Scepter tightly in her hands. "I won't let you win Pitch. I'll…I will never let you hurt anyone I love ever again!" she yelled.

And just like that, her dagger morphed into a long sword and the Scepter transformed into a platinum shield!

Pitch got his black sand axe ready.

With a fierce battle cry, Sapphire and Pitch charged at each other, their weapons clashing in a shower of black sand and white sparks. The two of them fought while the Guardians down below reached Jack and tried to help him.

Jack was violently shaking, breath coming out unevenly as he gasped for air. Blood was continuously seeping through the front of his hoodie and his face had completely turned white. Bunny tried to stop the blood flow with his paw but Jack winced, feebly opening his eyes.

Even the slightest touch was too painful…

North worriedly cradled the winter spirit in his arms, muttering desperate prayers as Sandy slipped Jack's staff into the boy's hand. Tooth gently cupped Jack's pale cheek in her hand while Baby Tooth worriedly fluttered near her friend's face. Millennium, Marina, Layla, Mother Nature and Father Time formed a protective circle around them, fighting off any Nightmare that came too close.

Suddenly they all heard a pained cry.

Sapphire had barely deflected a blow from Pitch's axe before he used his black sand to slam her into the Pedestal.

"You're pathetic! I don't know what the Man in the Moon sees in you! A weak-hearted fool of girl who's never been able to protect any of her loved ones! Tell me, Sapphire what _exactly _makes you a Guardian?! _What does the Man in the Moon see in you that makes him think you can be one?!_" Pitch yelled at the girl.

Unsteadily rising to her feet, Sapphire glanced down to where the Guardians were and her eyes locked with Jack's. The winter spirit's eyes were half-closed but they blazed with determination. He knew he was going to die while Sapphire hoped he wouldn't and the last thing he wanted to see before breathing his last breath was Sapphire triumphantly defeating the Nightmare King.

'_You can do it, Sapphire…I know you can…__**I believe in you**__…_' Jack's voice whispered in Sapphire's ears.

That was just the encouragement she needed.

Sapphire looked at Pitch again who was smiling as if he had already won. "Oh, back for more I see?" he taunted her before unleashing a blast of black sand.

To his surprise, Sapphire also fired out a water beam that matched in strength with his attack.

"Manny chose me to be a Guardian because he _believes _in me! I know I don't really deserve it but if he believes in me then _I _believe in myself as well!" she yelled defiantly, advancing a step forward.

Her water beam doubled in strength.

"This is for my _family!_" Another step and her power increased.

"This is for my _friends!_" again, Sapphire's power increased as she took another step towards Pitch.

The Boogeyman began to feel scared.

His powers began to falter.

"This is for _Manny! _This is for _the Guardians!_" With every shout and every step, Sapphire grew stronger.

"This is for _Jack!_" Sapphire now had the upper hand.

Pitch was barely holding her off and she was just one step away from him.

"And this…" she whispered, taking the last step before engulfing Pitch in water.

"…_This is for every child in the world who believes_."

The water boiled and churned.

"_**NOOOOO…!**_" Pitch screamed and with a burst of hot water and steam, he was gone.

Nightmares began to rush to the girl in order to avenge their master. Quickly, Sapphire commanded the shield to transform back into its original form. It once again became the Scepter of Creations.

Without a moment of hesitation, Sapphire took it and slammed it onto the Pedestal of Beginnings.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi guys! This is the second to the last chapter! I'll be posting the final chapter on Thursday so it's something to look forward to!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own ROTG.**

**Chapter 19**

The five gems and moonstone glowed followed by the sapphire.

Just as the Nightmares were about to attack, pure, white light burst out of both the Scepter and the Pedestal. A beam of light also shot up into the sky and illuminated the darkness.

Every single Nightmare was vanquished as the light spread out into the earth, undoing all the damage caused by Pitch's darkness. Time returned to normal, the darkness hanging around in the skies vanished and plants slowly began to come back to life.

Panting, Sapphire looked up as the moon became visible once more along with the slowly brightening sky signaling that dawn had come.

Leaning against the Pedestal, Sapphire let her long sword turn back into a dagger, sheathed it and smiled.

She did it.

She stopped Pitch and saved everyone.

But her happiness quickly faded when she heard a noise…

'_Thunk!_'

It was the definite sound of wood hitting a cold, stone floor.

Alarm quickly set in when Sapphire remembered Jack.

She hurriedly went to her friends who were huddled around North. She knew Jack was there in his arms. "Is he okay?! Is Jack okay?!" she asked frantically.

North looked up at her, deep sadness in his eyes. Bunny's ears were drooping down low and his eyes were downcast. Tooth's wings hung limply at her sides as tears welled up in her eyes. Baby Tooth was perched on her shoulder, crying softly. Sandy looked at Sapphire sadly who saw the staff in his hands.

Sapphire stared at them until she couldn't take it anymore and gave them a pleading look.

"Just let her see…" Millennium hooted sadly.

Mother Nature and Father Time quietly stepped away, revealing Jack in North's arms. Sapphire fearfully approached, fighting back her tears.

Jack's eyes were closed and his face looked even peaceful as he lay there, his facial features frozen in an emotionless state. Blood soaked the front of his hoodie and to Sapphire's worry, he wasn't breathing.

"We're so sorry…We tried but…" Marina trailed off as tears began to roll down her beak. "No…no…Jack, no! Stay with me! _Please!_" Sapphire screamed, grabbing Jack's shoulders and tried to shake him awake. She refused to believe Jack was dead.

"He's _immortal…_He just can't…" she whispered fearfully before Father Time gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can't help him now…It's too late…" he said. Mother Nature sadly looked down. "There's nothing we can do…" she whispered.

Sapphire finally looked at her little sister.

Layla sadly shook her head. "Saph…He's gone…" she whimpered.

Just like that, Sapphire's whole world came crashing down and she could painfully feel her heart breaking.

Rain clouds began to form in the sky as North gently laid Jack in Sapphire's lap. Hands trembling, she tried to find a pulse, feel a heartbeat as she strained her ears to hear a breath.

Nothing…

Absolute silence answered Sapphire's desperate pleas.

The truth hit Sapphire hard like a tidal wave.

Jack Frost…was dead.

The rain began to fall as soon as the young girl began to sob, hugging the winter spirit's body close to her. Sandy and Mother Nature formed a barrier to keep out the rain as Sapphire cried. She gently held the sides of Jack's head in her hands, her tears falling onto his face.

"You promised me…You promised me you wouldn't leave me alone, remember? Please Jack…Don't leave us…Wake up…_Please…_" Sapphire begged, placing her head on Jack's chest not minding the cold blood.

But no matter how hard she pleaded, Jack didn't stir. Everyone shed tears but Sapphire was the most grief-stricken.

'_It's too late…Gone…Nothing we can do…_'

Those were the words Sapphire wished never to hear ever since the surfing accident.

But she heard them again and this time, the very first boy she ever truly loved with all her heart had been taken away from her…

Jack had helped her forgive herself, shown her the fun of being a Guardian and made her just feel so happy and loved…

And now he was gone…

"Jack…I'm so sorry Jack…This is all my fault…I…I just want you back…Just please come back to me…" she whispered, gently pressing her forehead against his as she sobbed.

As she and the Guardians cried, a faint pulse of light came from the Scepter. The sapphire dislodged itself and floated onto Jack's chest. Sapphire looked at it in confusion as a tear slipped down her face and fell onto it. A calm blue glow suddenly enveloped Jack's body and glowed briefly for a few seconds. Sapphire saw the blood stain fade from Jack's clothes as the glow faded.

Anxiously Sapphire and the Guardians watched for a sign of life.

But the winter spirit didn't so much as twitch a finger…

Sapphire sighed and gently held Jack's limp hand, too tired to cry anymore as the others bowed their heads.

Sapphire had just shut her eyes when she felt Jack's fingers suddenly twitch.

The Guardians' heads shot up and watched as the boy's fingers slowly interlocked with Sapphire's. The young girl's eyes flew open and watched.

Slowly, Jack's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey…What'd I miss?" he said, giving Sapphire a coy grin.

Sapphire just broke into a wide smile and laughed as he helped him up.

And the rain stopped.

The Guardians were overjoyed.

"Welcome back Jack! Welcome back!" North boomed, jovially patting the teen's back.

"You sure gave us one heck of a scare, mate." Bunny chuckled.

"We're just so glad you're okay!" Tooth smiled as Baby Tooth flew around Jack in excited circles.

Millennium, Marina and Layla were doing some sort of celebratory dance.

Sapphire then spun Jack around to face her. "That was both heroic and at the same time, crazy stupid. I mean, what were you thinking?" she said in a mock scolding tone.

Jack laughed. "I just…thought I was going to lose you." He said sheepishly. "Lose _me? I _almost lost _you!_" Sapphire gave him a hug as tears of joy ran down her face.

"Just promise me you won't scare me like that ever again, okay?" she whispered. "I promise." The winter spirit said softly as the rain clouds parted, revealing the slowly fading moon.

A ray of moonlight fell on Layla. Marina looked at her in surprise as the little girl's wings glowed and disintegrated into green sparkles.

"Uh…What just happened?" Layla said, confused. Millennium carefully looked at her before whispering something to Father Time who smiled and said, "Look's like Manny has decided to give you a gift."

Layla still looked confused.

"What kind of gift?" Marina asked. "The gift of a normal life. You're no longer a nymph Layla, my child. You can go home." Mother Nature said lovingly.

It took a minute for Layla to let it sink in.

"I can…go home…?" she whispered before finally breaking into a wide smile.

"_I can go home! I can go home!_" she cheered before rushing to Sapphire. "Saph, I'm a regular girl again! I'm mortal now! I can go home!" she shrieked with glee.

Sapphire smiled. "You sure you're okay with giving up your powers?" she asked jokingly. "I'm a regular girl now and I'm _loving it!_" Layla whooped as she hugged her big sister.

Mother Nature and Father Time then stepped forward. "While fear has been defeated and the Scepter is in its rightful place, we'll still need to restore the world's greenery." Father Time informed them, stroking his beard.

Mother Nature snapped her fingers and small bags of green magic dust appeared in the Guardians' hands. "And we'll need a lot of help." She added.

**Ta-da! Jack's okay, in case some of you were freaking out. And I used 'Noble Maiden Fair' from Brave again when I was writing the angsty, dramatic part of this. But don't worry ROTG fans, he's alive. **

**Read and review! Last chapter is up TOMORROW!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here it is! The final chapter!**

**I am just so, **_**so **_**thankful for all the favorites, follows and awesome reviews. There are so many I want to thank but the list might be too long and you guys are probably waiting for this so I'll just make it short: THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS STORY TO THE VERY END! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Chapter 20**

A small group of children were trying to water their shriveled up garden when green dust suddenly rained down from above.

The plants instantly sprung back to life just as the kids saw a reindeer pulled sleigh and a giant white swan.

Excitedly the children waved to the Guardians, shouting their thanks.

Working together, the Guardians sprinkled the green dust over every area Pitch's darkness touched and brought all the plants back to life. Father Time also fixed the time in any area where it was still out of balance but all in all, everything was back to normal in the world.

Their last stop was Burgess.

"Guys, look! They're back!" Jamie shouted to his friends as they ran out of their houses.

The kids cheered as the Guardians arrived.

Donnie quickly pulled his parents outside. "See?! Jamie and his friends are right! Mom, Dad look!" the little five year old shouted excitedly pointing up.

His parents looked up…and saw their two daughters riding Marina as they showered the town with green magic dust.

They looked at Donnie, then each other and then immediately knew what they had to do.

Arriving at the Pond, North summoned up a few Yetis and elves. One of the Yetis brought forward the Book of the Guardians.

Before North could open it though, Jamie and his friends arrived followed by surprisingly to everyone else, Sapphire and Layla's family.

"Mom? Dad? Donnie?" Layla said, her eyes wide. "Layla! You don't have your wings! Cool!" Donnie giggled.

Their parents were amazed as Layla tearfully ran over to them.

Sapphire apprehensively approached her family. "Mom…Dad…C-Can you really…see me…?" she said before Donnie tackled her in a hug. "I knew you'd come back!" Donnie giggled as their whole family came together in a hug.

The Guardians happily watched the reunion.

"I've got a lot to explain…" Sapphire lightly laughed. Her parents shook their heads. "Jamie and his friends told us the whole story. Oh sweetheart, we're so sorry we couldn't see you." Her mother said as she hugged & kissed her. "We also know who you need to be now…and we're okay with it. Your mother I have always known you were meant for great things. Go be a Guardian, Sapphire. It's what you were born to be." Her father said proudly and encouragingly.

Sapphire looked at her parents and Donnie. "I always knew you were the coolest big sister ever." Donnie grinned.

Smiling, Sapphire faced North and the Guardians. The Russian opened the book and began to read the Oath of the Guardians.

"Will you, Sapphire Aquamarie, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard with your life their hopes, their wishes and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be." North closed the book and smiled at the young girl.

Sapphire looked around at all her friends and family. She glanced at Jack who smiled.

Smiling as well, the young girl looked up at North. "I will." She promised.

The moon suddenly glowed and a beautiful orichalcum staff appeared in front of Sapphire. Swirls of gold decorated the handle and body. Sapphires and Aquamarines adorned its head.

It was meant for her.

Sapphire delicately placed her hands on it. A water spout suddenly propelled her up into the air. Sapphire's body began to glow as water surrounded her. Her glowing form slowly spun as the water swirled.

When the water burst into droplets, everyone gasped in awe.

Sapphire looked stunning.

Blue strappy sandals adorned her feet. She wore a simple blue shirt and a knee length seaweed skirt decorated with seashells. Gold jewelry adorned her arms and her once brown hair was now a deep ocean blue with a pearl pin in her long flowing locks. Her eyes didn't change. They were still the lovely shade of blue Jack loved.

Gently floating back down to the ground, Sapphire looked at her new form and smiled broadly. The kids burst into cheers.

Laughing, Sapphire twirled around and raised her staff up to the moon. She saw a faint smile on the Man in the Moon's face as the kids crowded around her.

"You're pretty." Sophie giggled.

"You look amazing, Sapphire." Jamie complimented.

"That's our girl." Sapphire's parents laughed as they watched their eldest child embrace her brother and sister.

"You'll come back and visit?" Donnie asked hopefully. "As often as I can." His big sister promised. "And we'll be waiting." Layla smiled.

Sapphire smiled before noticing a ribbon of dream sand encircling the moon.

Sapphire smiled.

She knew who it was and so did Sandy.

"I've learned a lot from Her. She loves you, you know that?" she asked the Guardian of Dreams who smiled and nodded.

Jack then approached her with a smile. "Hey…You…You look beautiful." He said shyly. "Thank you." Sapphire smiled.

"I overheard you talking to Sandy…Who's '_Her_' exactly?" the Guardian of Fun asked curiously. Sapphire grinned. "Oh, She helped me with finding my center. And…I learned a lot from Her too." She replied as she went nearer to Jack.

"Like what?" Jack pressed on. Twirling a lock of her hair, Sapphire looked at him. "Well I learned that…I should always believe in myself and not just in others…Always be brave and know that I'm never alone." She said before she remembered something.

Something very, _very _important.

"And…" she began with a twinkle in her eye as she took one last step so only a few inches separated her and Jack.

"Just because I'm the Guardian of Equality, that doesn't mean I can't turn the tides to my favor by making the first move." She said at last.

Jack cocked his head to one side. "Um…What do you mean by '_the first move_'?" he asked, confused. Sapphire sighed and rolled her eyes a bit.

Apparently she would have to do something that speaks louder than words.

She pulled Jack closer to her and said, "_This._"

Before she planted her lips on his, making everyone stare.

A couple of elves jingled their bells excitedly.

Phil and the other Yetis let their jaws drop.

Sandy smiled and made little sand hearts over his head while some Mini Fairies fainted as Baby Tooth chirped excitedly.

Bunny and Tooth just looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

North smiled and laughed.

"_Whoa._" Was all Jamie, Sophie and their friends could say.

Layla and Donnie stared, their eyes wide.

Their parents just smiled with Mother Nature and Father Time as if they knew that a kiss was coming on.

"_Finally!_" Marina whispered to Millennium. "You said it!" the Whiskered Screech churred.

No one was more surprised than Jack himself.

At first his eyes were wide and his body went rigid. But eventually he closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around Sapphire's waist and kissed her back, feeling her soft lips against his and just enjoyed it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two teens pulled away from each other.

Letting the reality that Sapphire had really kissed him, Jack looked at Sapphire. "Well that was…_fun_…" he mumbled, smiling dopily.

Sapphire blushed a little and smiled back. Mother Nature and Father Time looked at the Guardians and nodded. It was time to go.

Getting on Marina, Sapphire waved good-bye to her friends and family as she joined North's sleigh up in the air, the Pond and town of Burgess slowly fading out of view.

As they flew over the open ocean, Sapphire whistled and jumped off Marina. Along with the dolphins, a humpback whale instantly surfaced, letting her land safely. She admired the view for a while before Marina swooped down and she climbed back on.

The two of them flew close to the sleigh. Jack smiled at Sapphire from the back. Sapphire smiled too as her staff glowed. Sapphire then conjured up a light spray of water, colors appearing as the sun's rays shone down.

Sapphire Aquamarie now felt truly happy. She had gained amazing powers, made wonderful friends, stopped fear from ruling the world and…finally followed her heart.

Sapphire looked at her fellow Guardians.

And most of all, she discovered who she was really meant to be-a Guardian.

**THE END**

**Once again, Thank you Fan Fiction readers **

**See you till the next new story!**


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